Around the base of the tree in my front yard, there are a circular bed
of flowers. In the past week, about 1 - 2 inch wide paths with no
grass have started appearing coming out from the bed of flowers into
the grass. So far, the trails have appeared in two spots. One trail
continues for several feet back into the grass, although grass from
the sides covers it so you can't see it that well, but if you feel
with your hand, it is there.

It's like the grass just stopped growing to form these trails. I have
no idea what is doing it. Bugs? Mouse? Squirrel? Mole? Snake?

Here are some pictures of the trails:

http://ingsoc.crappyhosting.com/grass

Help!

-PP

Looks like vole trails to me.

Sue



"Pelvis Popcan" wrote in message
...
Around the base of the tree in my front yard, there are a circular bed
of flowers. In the past week, about 1 - 2 inch wide paths with no
grass have started appearing coming out from the bed of flowers into
the grass. So far, the trails have appeared in two spots. One trail
continues for several feet back into the grass, although grass from
the sides covers it so you can't see it that well, but if you feel
with your hand, it is there.

It's like the grass just stopped growing to form these trails. I have
no idea what is doing it. Bugs? Mouse? Squirrel? Mole? Snake?

Here are some pictures of the trails:

http://ingsoc.crappyhosting.com/grass

Help!

-PP

Did some googling for vole trails, it looks like that's definitely
what it is.

I found a product called "whole control" on bugspray.com, I might try
it. Not a poison, just a repellent.

Thanks for the help, without it I would have no idea what I was
dealing with!



"SugarChile" wrote:

Looks like vole trails to me.

Sue



"Pelvis Popcan" wrote in message
.. .
Around the base of the tree in my front yard, there are a circular bed
of flowers. In the past week, about 1 - 2 inch wide paths with no
grass have started appearing coming out from the bed of flowers into
the grass. So far, the trails have appeared in two spots. One trail
continues for several feet back into the grass, although grass from
the sides covers it so you can't see it that well, but if you feel
with your hand, it is there.

It's like the grass just stopped growing to form these trails. I have
no idea what is doing it. Bugs? Mouse? Squirrel? Mole? Snake?

Here are some pictures of the trails:

http://ingsoc.crappyhosting.com/grass

Help!

-PP

I don't have much of a problem with voles in the summertime. I know they're
out there, going about their vole business and living their voles lives, but
they don't seem to cause any particular damage, perhaps because of the easy
availability of food. The population seems to undergo some cyclical
flux--some years they are on a downswing and not visible.

Our winters are very variable here, so some years we don't have much snow,
or what we do have melts in a series of thaws. In those conditions I have
no issues with voles.

But in a winter like the past one, where it snowed early and often, and the
ground was covered until spring, the voles have a field day. Without the
threat of predation from cats and hawks, they are free to make extensive
tunnels. They cleaned out hundreds of crocus and chinodoxa bulbs last
winter, and damaged (although not fatally) some perennials.

I'll replant the bulbs, and hope for the best. I encourage the neighborhood
cats to hang around; they are fairly easy prey for a cat that's a good
hunter. And I'll see what interesting surprises Nature has in store for me
this winter.

Let us know how the repellant works out.

Cheers,
Sue

"Pelvis Popcan" wrote in message
...
Did some googling for vole trails, it looks like that's definitely
what it is.

I found a product called "whole control" on bugspray.com, I might try
it. Not a poison, just a repellent.

Thanks for the help, without it I would have no idea what I was
dealing with!