Holes in my garden!

[Pam]

Hi, I'm new here.
We have just noticed 2 holes in our garden, one in the back & one in the front. All very neat, but very noticable. They are approx 3in in diameter And go down & then slope. Has anyone any idea what could be making them? :confused:

[Kerry L]

Hello Pam
Sorry for the delay in replying - have been away. I think you ought to get someone in from your local council - I think they may be rats, as it sounds as though the holes are too big for moles. My folks had problems with rats living under their neighbour's shed and the council sorted it out with pellets. More holes appeared just recently, so another visit from the rat man confirmed that there were no more rats but the new holes were actually from a visiting mole. He suggested Jeyes Fluid down the hole, as moles don't like the smell (probably kills off their food more likely). Other than that, have you noticed any rabbit droppings in the garden? I'm afraid I can't think of anything else to help.
Good luck
Kerry

[Jenny]

Pam, should have replied sooner but had to dig out some info from distant past! See Kerry's ahead of me but I would say most likely rates - unless rabbit droppings are evident and plentiful. You don't say where you are and what sort of soil you have (no, not asking!) but that can make a difference. Try rats first! Your local council's Pest Operative (not the Rat Man, that's offensive in these pc days!) should be able to advise. It doesn't sound like moles to me (unless not on clay soil) But, horrific as rats sound, if you're in a country location they're likely to be brown rats - still a nuisance, but not so totally unpleasant as blacks. If it's browns, and you're in the countryside, ask advice as to the impact of any deterrent measures on owls and other more welcome beasts. We had a total infestation of brown rats being surrounded by wheat fields and stores and they were a real expensive pain, but with tawny, little and barn owls, we didn't have poison put down. We had Council guy trap some and others we shot (latter probably not an option for yourself). So try that option first.

BTW, and will be crucified, probably, by others for saying this, during this problem for years sprog was crawling around the garden the rats has p***d on, was getting thoroughly dirty/muddy etc and cut/scratched/grazed as kids do. NO problem with sensible washing and first aid procedures. However, this was from the start, not introduced later, in sprog's life, so I'm only speaking on our own circumstances. If you have rats and no exposure from a young age, please take care of yourselves.

[Pam]

Thanks for your replies.
Haven't seen any sign of droppings of any description,& no more holes so far! We have had a few molehills though, & there seems to be a lot in the area.:mad:

[Kerry L]

Hi Pam
Don't bother with Jeyes Fluid down mole holes - my dad tried it and it doesn't work! He probably killed off a few worms instead! He is not a happy bunny:(
Regards, Kerry

[georgie]

Pam,

Just this summer for the first time, mysterious holes also appeared in our garden. They are variable in size, ranging from about 1-2.5 in diameter, and I must admit I feared the worst (ie rats!, albeit fairly small ones).

However, I've put down Longworth traps (ie the ones that allow you to trap the beasties alive) and caught a wood mouse. (phew!). I suspect we are now getting these because they are attracted to all the bird food we put in the garden..... especially since my recently designed anti pigeon devices have resulted in most of the food being suspended just above the ground (enclosed by a cage) and would be well within the reach of a mouse.

I assume wood mice are OK to co-exist with..... (are they?). Please don't tell me they are carriers of anything nasty....! They are certainly very sweet looking and they don't smell like house mice......

[Kerry L]

Hi Georgie
I think the 2.5 inch hole sounds too big for a wood mouse, but I suppose they might make use of a deserted tunnel, keep an eye on it just in case. Are the traps big enough for rats or are you only using mousey ones? You won't catch a rat in a mouse trap, nor will mice trip the door of rat traps. For vermin I recommend the local council.

We have lived alongside woodmice under our doorstep for a long time and haven't really had any problems with them until recently. They usually set up house in the greenhouse in winter (unheated and nothing for them to eat in there) or on the odd occasion, in the garage. Incidentally, my mousey thing (on another posting) turned out to be Miss Woodmouse too. This summer we had all the doors and windows open - we had builders in and out everywhere and hey presto, a mousey indoors to visit!:( We eventually caught it in a humane trap (after it had chewed a hole in a rubber pipe taking water to our big American fridge and we had our own Niagara Falls:eek: ) and I released it into the woods about 2 miles away. (Daughter quite happy we didn't kill it - after bailing out the kitchen, I'm glad I didn't have the energy to throttle her!) This wasn't Miss Woodmouse under the doorstep as she had a short tail, and this one's tail was long. I didn't really get an opportunity to study it's sex or specie type because I didn't want it to be any more stressed than it already was. It could have been either house mouse or woodmouse taking an open opportunity. Sadly for the mouse it couldn't find any food as the kitchen cupboards are thick and sound, and the only thing that it munched was my Christmas cactus (not much sustenance there either, as most of my indoor plants are neglected).
They could be a problem if you grow your own vegetables - as I have found out this spring - replanting onion sets several times, and losing one to a mouse feast. Also not good with peas, root veg or sweetcorn - all yummy to meecies. In spite of neighbours cats using my garden to spend a penny, they haven't done anything to harm the mice - only the birds:mad:, although a tawny owl has been visiting the garden regularly - nice to listen to before dropping off to sleep.
If rodents become too much of a nuisance and you end up being overrun with them, you will need to change the bird feeding stations, or feed less frequently so that they will have to find another source for their store cupboard!
Good luck, regards, Kerry

[georgie]

Hi Kerry,

Thanks for your advice.

I'm pretty convinced it was a wood mouse we caught as it didn't have the pong of a house mouse, and from what we could see through the placcy bag it did look like one (a wood mouse)

I've caught rats before in these Longworth traps, but they can only accommodate smallish ones (luckily!). So you could be right, our original visitor could well have been a rat ..... in fact the biggest hole we found was in the area where we had buried our recently deceased canary and we did originally think that we had been the victims of a body snatcher.:( .... which I would have assumed to be a rat. (do mice eat carrion?)

But I'm not unduly worried as this hole, (and another one in my 'veg' patch (in reality a few herbs and salady bits) appear unused now (clean spider webs at the entrance) and I haven't found any droppings. I think I will just leave things alone and keep an eye open for any new holes, or any damage to my veg. I'm also relying on the dog to let me know if any new visitors come into the garden or house - this summer she spent ages sniffing behind a big fern, and would emerge covered in spores, and it was only when I had a good look that I realised that it was a mouse/rat hole that intrigued her so much.

I'm hoping any new rats will much prefer the spoils from the bin bags that are deposited in the alley behind the house!

Regards,

Georgie


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