Why does my lawn and garden look like Swiss Cheez?

Moles and voles. They are after your roots or digging for earthworms.

Get a cat or a live trap.

Bob

-- I am a strong believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Alberta Canada Zone 3A or maybe 3B

does the ground feel spongy as you walk on it?

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Nope, but I get the odd dizzly spell.

-- I am a strong believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Alberta Canada Zone 3A or maybe 3B

don’t talk about dizzy spells… I woke up dizzy in the middle of the night.. didn’t start feeling better until about noon today… it was a wild morning.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Hi Debbie, the ground is dry and cracked in some places from lack of rain, this pest is digging everywhere in established areas and in our new raised flower beds, it tore up some of my new grass as well, we do have rabbits in the area, but that is just about it, I live in an urban area not much wild life except for the wife and I at happy hour.

Thanks
Ron

I know that when we had moles (or voles) whichever it was, they had so many tunnels underground that it felt like you were walking on 8” foam rubber. They are a real pain. That’s for sure, even though they may be doing some good in the yard

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

you have swiss moles or maybe swiss voles.

two solutions. get rid of the grubs that the moles feed on. or get a jack russel terrier. if you get the russel he’ll tear the place up (maybe rent one?) I figure it’s cheaper to fix the lawn than it is to suffer the moles.

Cats won’t do squat (unless their mom trained them to go after them.) Cats won’t get moles but will get voles (wanna see picks of the vole grave yard I have?)

I actually was successful one time with a mole trap only because I was able to identify the active tunnel (see a tunnel, step on it, if it goes back up he or she is still using it. worked great. a friend of mine said he used to sit in his yard with a glass of jack and ice and a pitch fork but was never successful at stabbing one….I figure he was just too drunk.)

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist......Zone out....(USA 5)

Drop castor beans down any active tunnels.

-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.

Dini…Just the beans or the prickly pods too?Why does this stop them?

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

the trick is to find their main tunnel. They have one tunnel that everything runs off of (according to something that I read when trying to get rid of our infestation.) Our back yard, the field behind us, and our neighbour’s yard were all being used by the critters.

This isn’t a recommendation but is the story of how we got our lawn back. Rick was fogging the yard for mosquitoes and he stuck the end of the fogger down a hole. The spray must have backed up in the hole and then there was a mini explosion and the smoke rolled from all the holes in the area. They must have been close by when this accident happened.

When we emptied our pool that year we stuck the drain hose down into one of the holes—not one single drop of water ended up on the surface of the ground. The entire 6000 gallons of water disappeared into the tunnels.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I don’t know if they eat the beans (they’re poisonous) or the fumes drive ‘em out. I just know they left.
An elderly friend told me to try it. It worked.
I used just the beans.

-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.

Wonder if it would work with Prairie Dogs?

Bob

-- I am a strong believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Alberta Canada Zone 3A or maybe 3B

It sounds like chipmunk holes. We had them all over our lawn the past few years. They even dug holes under my pond, and chewed on the wire going to the pump, shorting it out. However, after capturing about 23 chipmunks, they decided to go elsewhere….. to a house across the street. The residents there are going crazy about all the chipmunks, and we are smiling, because we have no more holes. :)

-- jroot

OK THIS IS STARTING TO SOUND LIKE CADDY SHACK:)

Bob

Don’t discount your dizzy spells

I had a lot of them . Signal of high blood pressure

Then took a heart attack

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

The holes stop, they don’t look like a tunnel.

Juicy fruit chewing gum worked for me…............non chewed

dropit in the holes…........they eat it, bloat and die

-- Central northish Ontario

“The holes stop, they don’t look like a tunnel.”
Bet the roots are eaten on the plants above theme too .
Are they around your bulbs too?

If you double click on the blue part of my first message it will get you to a clomplet set of information about Moles etc.
I suspect you didn’t do that. ;-(

Mole tunnels are of two types:

Temporary surface tunnels where the sod is raised and appears as ridges. These feeding tunnels are used a few times, and then abandoned.
Deeper tunnels from which the mole must excavate dirt, forming molehills. The deeper tunnels are used mainly as the living quarters

Bob

-- I am a strong believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Alberta Canada Zone 3A or maybe 3B

It would be caddyshack if I were to start suggesting explosive or incendiary devices. But at least you can get some appreciation of what-his-face in the movie. Sometimes getting a mole becomes a priority, I already did my stint with a ground hog.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist......Zone out....(USA 5)

A nice link to the trailer for Caddy Shack, Check it out after the bud commercial it is worth it to see Mr.Gopher and Bill Murry in action. So how do we get rid of these pests any way?
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3032219929/

Thanks to Bob, I have a good understanding of what is going on, thanks for the link.
Ron

Are the holes quite shallow and small…look like many tiny grenades went off in your yard? It may be a skunk digging shallow holes to get grubs. I have one around here every summer. Occasionally can tell when he’s making the rounds after dark when I awake to the “aroma” of skunk wafting thru the open windows.

skunks, coons and even robins can make a mess of a yard leaving it looking like swiss cheese….........all are looking for grubs.

the minature rat like vermon leave visible tunnel marks along the surface….............especially after a rain or a wet season like spring and fall….....................for those “Juicy Fruit” worked for me.

-- Central northish Ontario