Burrowing Pests

BURROWING PEST IDENTIFICATION

Burrowing pests — of the furry kind — can quickly turn your beautiful lawn into a sea of mounded soil and disrupted grass. When this happens, one of these three offenders is likely behind the burrowing mess:

• Gophers – These large, short-tailed rodents average 6 to 12 inches long, depending on the species. They have prominent, chisel-like front teeth used to feed on roots and other plant parts. Large, powerful claws for digging line their front feet.
• Moles – These midsize tunnel-makers grow 6 to 8 inches long, with small teeth that suit their earthwormand insect-heavy diet. Their distinctive pointy snout complements their tiny eyes, short front legs and heavily clawed, mitten-like front feet.
• Voles – These pests feed on plants — from roots to bark — and grow to about 4 to 8 inches long. Also known as meadow mice, voles are larger and stockier than common house mice. They also have shorter legs, fur-covered tails and ears nearly hidden by their longer fur.

SIGNS OF GOPHERS, MOLES AND VOLES

It sometimes takes a bit of digging, but it's relatively easy to identify signs left by gophers, moles and voles:

• Gopher mounds are fan-shaped. When viewed from the side, the dirt slopes upward to one side, away from the pest's hidden hole. Gopher tunnels stay hidden underground, invisible from above — unless heavy rains and erosion expose the network.
• Molehills are round, cone-like mounds that look balanced from all angles. Entry holes sit right in the cone's center. In addition to hills, moles also make tunnels just under the soil surface. You can see the raised tunnels from above. Heavy rains may break tunnels open.
• Vole damage doesn't involve tunnels or mounds. These pests make trench-like, above-ground runs between their holes. In summer, these pests hide their runways with grass. In winter, their trenches stay snow-covered until melting reveals the damage.