Mice...I think!

[tranch]

I think I have mice outside the house. I'm in a new subdividision that last year was a corn field.

I have several small holes around the front of the house, close to the foundation and from these holes there are tunnels, just under the sod, sometimes up through the sod, out into the lawn. Looks terrible! I know exactly where the tunnels go because the grass is dead and it looks like I've got stripes through the lawn! Are these field mice or could they be moles? What is the best way to get rid of either!? :mad:

[majakdragon]

Your description doesn't sound like mice. It sounds more like moles or voles. moles and voles both inhabit areas where there is a substantial food supply(grubs). The only way to rid your yard of both pests is to remove the food supply.There are pesticides available at local home centers and big box stores. You can also use a more expensive and time consuming process of using nematodes. The nematodes are placed in the soil and destroy the grub population by attacking the grub larvae. They also attack other lawn pests.
The nematodes are available at "fine home centers" and landscape/nursery centers.

Good luck and post back

[twelvepole]

Sounds like voles to me. They are vegetarians and eat plant roots. They can really have a good time in your flower beds. Moles are carnivores and eat grubs. I once lived in a house with a screened-in porch. I had a vole in the azalea bed that surrounded the porch. I'd see that little pest from time to time, especially after I applied fresh mulch.

Voles construct visible tunnels at or near the surface, about two inches wide. Vole runways result from the voles eating the grass blades. If you have an infestation you will see paths in the grass from the traffic.

Both moles and voles are rarely seen. Moles produce two types of runways in your yard. One runway runs just beneath the surface. These are feeding tunnels and appear as raised ridges running across your lawn. The second type of runway runs deeper and enables the moles to unite the feeding tunnels in a network. Moles excavate soil out of their deep tunnels and pile it up in mounds that look like little volcanoes. If you have mounds, you have moles. If not, you have voles.

Voles primarily feed on stems and roots of grass, but if you have a flower bed look out. Keep grass mowed short and avoid dense ground covers. Don't place mulch too close to plants and shrubs because you are providing them shelter. Voles love it when it snows because they have instant shelter to run about the lawn and munch on the grass. Last winter I had over three feet of snow at my mountain cabin. By the time it melted off the voles had a big time in my backyard. It looked like they had Nascar races all over it where they had surface mined the grass under the snow.

Voles can be removed humanely from a yard by using Havahart live-traps or exterminated by using mouse traps or poisons. Because my mountain cabin is remote, I just take what comes my way and ignore it. There is no lawn maintenance except mowing because it's in a national forest.

The problem with using poison baits is that they are hazardous to other wildlife, children, and pets. If you place bait in burrow openings, hazards are reduced. Or, you can use baits that come in bait containers. You can use the old-fashioned mouse snap traps. Place perpendicular to the runway and place trigger in path of runway. Bait with peanutbutter. The best time of year to trap is fall or late winter. Traps, too, can be harmful to other wildlife, children, and pets. You can place traps under boxes and that will minimize risk. Locate traps or poison at widest runways because that's where they travel the most.

If poisons and traps don't appeal to you, then you can try vole repellents. Deer and rabbit repellents are effective. Frequent application is required because rain makes them ineffective. Some folks claim success with fox and coyote urine. Wire or plastic mesh can be installed a couple feet in the ground around trees, shrubs, and flower beds to keep voles at bay. Don't waste your money on fumigants or those ultra-sonic devices. There is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of ultra-sonic devices for any type of pest control.

Trapping is the most effective method. Some states have laws against relocation of animal pests. Which means you may have to exterminate the pest after you trap it. If you don't have the heart to exterminate voles, then you may just decide to live with them.

Deer tend to cause more havoc in landscapes than voles, but people tend to feed them and think they are beautiful. Both my front and backyard at my mountain cabin are a mess from charging hooves and droppings. Thank goodness I have no landscape plantings. But, I am out there at night with my spotlight looking for the reflection of those big brown eyes. I have a peach tree and some apple trees which attract them. I get excited every time I see one. My tree limbs are munched off as high as they can reach. And, they know they are o.k. with me because they don't run off when they see me.