vole or mole damage?

11 years ago

I've seen a few critter holes in my back yard over the years, but just saw some large ones in my front yard. I have 8 raised vegetable garden beds and numerous flower beds. I've never had any damage to my plants that I know of before. I found a tunnel today that has alarmed me because the tunnel is directly underneath an expensive hydrangea tree standard. Last week I accidentally left the soaker hose on overnight so the ground was very soft. Should I try to refill the short tunnel? It is 2-4 inches wide at the entrances and only about 2 feet long. I found one other tunnel in the front yard but its been there for a couple of months. Help! I was thinking of picking up some of those sticky traps to stick inside the tunnel in case the little buggers are still inside. Would that help?

The tunnel entrance is at the bare spot under the sedum.

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Comments (4)

kimmq
11 years ago
That could be a vole or a chipmunk but not a mole hole. While live traps will work a problem is what to do with the trapped animal. Most states require a license to move live wildlife around. Many people object to using kill traps, but they work and disposal is easier. You will find a lot of misinformation about control of these critters on line. Sticky traps will do little or nothing, Poison baits may be illegal, but they also can present more problems then they cure.

kimmq is kimmsr
bibbus 7b
Original Author
11 years ago
I did see for the first time in as long as I can remember a chipmunk on my back patio this week. Why would bait traps work and sticky traps won't? Also, what should I do about the tunnel under my pee gee hydrangea tree? Should I try to tamp down the hole or try to fill it with dirt since its only a couple of feet long? Thanks for your response.
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kimmq
11 years ago
Sticky traps for rodents have a very small success rate to begin with and if a rodent is stuck to one they starve to death unless the trap is monitored and other means of killing are used. Baited traps, or snap traps, generally kill outright, a more humane method is killing is ever humane.

For that tunnel, if drainage is not an issue I would use a garden hose to wash soil back around the plants roots and then fill in as needed with good soil.

kimmq is kimmsr
bibbus 7b thanked kimmq
bibbus 7b
Original Author
11 years ago
Well, I had already purchsed the glue traps and they are good for attracting crickets... I found a LOT more damage (more missing dirt but I couldn't tell if roots were gone or not) around the base of the hydrangea when I started trying to fill in the holes. It was harder than I thought to get the dirty into the tunnel. A dozen leaves on the hydrangea have turned yellow. I filled in as much as I could using a hose for pressure and tamped it down on both sides. I plan to keep monitoring it as often as I can to see if the critter is still in there. My neighbor said her cat has killed four little moles/voles (no chipmunks) in the past couple of days. She is the one who alerted me to look for damage as she has holes in her yard.