What critter is making holes in my flower bed?
Question:
I’m curious to learn what you folks might think may be the cause for something in and adjacent to one of our flower beds.
Last fall, we noticed a mound in the bed. It’s about 1.5′ x 2′ x 4″. The mound is at an end of the bed next to a flagstone patio and has no holes in it.
There are now three holes between stones in the patio. The holes are roughly in a straight line with 3-4′ between them and are larger than chipmunk would typically make.
In your opinion, are these two things related and what critter(s) would be responsible?
Answer:
I love this great visual “Diagnosing Holes in the Yard” flowchart from the Iowa State Extension. Following it, the raised mound sounds mole-ish, while the holes sound vole-ish. Voles are known to use existing mole tunnels where available, so you may have both, or you may have had a mole followed by voles.
Either way, you can find suggestions for control in the State of Maine’s “Dealing With Nuisance Wildlife” resource.
Happy gardening.