In article ,
"Bob Hobden" writes:
| Some of our potatoes have been eaten, not by slugs, we know what that looks
| like thank you.
|
| The marks are shallow scoops out of the flesh on most damaged ones although
| some have been eaten almost away. Are there any small (burrowing) rodents
| that eat potatoes below ground? That's what it looks like.

Yes. Several. Voles, mice and rats.

| What makes me ask is seeing a vole type creature today scurry around where
| we have some lettuce. We have bait boxes containing a powerful rat/mouse
| poison spread around the plot so whatever it is it doesn't eat the peanut
| butter flavoured bait. I'm wondering if it may therefore be mainly
| carnivorous as not as many potatoes were slug attacked as we expected
| considering the weather. Could it be eating the slugs and damaging the
| potatoes in the process?

Very unlikely. It is probably one of the voles, and they are very
vegetarian (UNLIKE mice and rats), so that peanut butter probably
won't tempt them. I wouldn't worry too much, as they don't cause
much damage unless there are lots of them.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.