When it comes to mole control, there are no easy answers. Because of this, you might try living the mole and raking up the molehills once the ground dries out. In fact, white grubs may be the most damaging turf insect pests in the United States. All of these beetles are voracious pests of ornamentals. In other words, moles have an insatiable appetite for Japanese beetles, European chafers, rose chafers, Asiatic garden beetles, and Oriental beetles, before they emerge as adults. And they can eat their weight in grubs, daily. Moles are solitary, territorial animals, requiring large territories in which to forage. So, even though it may seem like you have a multitude of moles in your yard, you probably only have one maybe two. One mole can dig 200-feet of feeding tunnels in a 24-hour period. Both create deep tunnels (burrows where they nest, often under something solid such as tree roots or rocks) and shallow (feeding) tunnels forming ‘molehills’ that can be from 2-inches to 2-feet tall, as they push excess soil to the surface. The star-nosed mole and the hairy-tail mole are the only mole species that live this far north. Rabbits will girdle trees, too, but rabbit gnaw marks are markedly larger and more uniform than those of voles. They can cause extensive damage in orchards, however, by girdling trees. But they usually leave lawns or open areas when the snow melts and the lawn quickly recovers. Voles create labyrinthine networks of runways under the snow, in winter. They don’t use surface runways, but do construct extensive underground tunnel systems. Pine voles may or may not live in the North Country. They construct surface runways and underground tunnels. Meadow voles are small rodents, sometimes called field mice. However, local ordinances regarding the discharge of firearms must be followed. When dealing with problem squirrels, both Remington and Winchester manufacture several products that provide very effective squirrel control. Once inside, they can damage insulation and electrical wiring. near stumps, brush or log piles, or buildings) and are about 2 inches in diameter typically with no loose or piled soil near the opening.Īll squirrels may move into attics, walls, or vacant camps. Chipmunk tunnel entrances are usually found in inconspicuous places (e.g. They are the only squirrels that are active at night.Ĭhipmunks are small ground squirrels with limited digging ability. Flying squirrels do not create as many problems as other tree squirrels. They eat the seeds and leave the rest behind. Red squirrels, however, habitually prune conifers, littering lawns with fallen branch tips. They live in hollows in trees, or nests made of twigs and leaves. Grey squirrels, red squirrels, and flying squirrels are tree squirrels and, as such, do not dig tunnels. But, gray squirrels neatly cover their stashes with the dirt they remove even taking the time to tap the dirt down with their paws. The holes are typically about the size of a quarter and shallow. Eastern gray squirrels bury and dig up nuts in the lawn and in mulched garden beds. It’s certainly worth distinguishing which pest you have. But, perhaps because of their tenacious tunneling activities, the most noteworthy culprits of concern to frazzled callers are meadow voles and hairy, or more often, star-nosed moles, the 2 mole species that live in northern New York. Questions about mice, squirrels, and chipmunks are frequent. It often starts with questions from anxious callers about recently discovered lawn, landscape, and garden damage often from wildlife pests. This is the time of year when the consumer horticulture season really begins in earnest at Cooperative Extension. And, as I write this, the persistent snow in my yard is finally giving way to bare ground.
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