In the last couple of weeks I have noticed that there are small 1" holes EVERYWHERE in my garden and raised beds. They are approximately 1" in diameter and about 6" apart. I dug some of them out but don't see any bugs, pests etc at the bottom. They are only about 2" deep. Is there some kind of pests that make these holes? Should I be worried about my crops? I have attached a picture for you to see. Any ideas or answers would be great. Thank you.
Could you post a couple more pictures, especially of the holes in your raised gardens? What kind of wildlife do you have in your area?
Here is another picture. I am trying to find the one I took in the raised beds. I forgot to mention that there is no dirt around the holes It is almost as if the dirt that was taken out of the holes has disappeared. We have gophers (far too small for them and the dirt was removed from the top-down), skunks, lizards, hawks, salamanders, rabbits, buzzards (they have just arrived for the season), wild pigs. These holes are not more than 1.5 - 2" deep. I hope this new picture helps. Thank you for responding.
The pics I have from the raised beds are not clear enough. I will take more tomorrow and hopefully you can see the evidence better. Thank you again.
How weird! If there weren't so many, I would think of a spider. Also, we have some weird wasps around here that drag tarantulas into their nests to feed their young. There are bees that nest in the ground, but you haven't found evidence of anything in the holes. Just brainstorming here...
The green giant with football shoes?
P.S. I did some googling and another idea popped up. Might it be squirrels or birds going after insects/worms in your soil? Also raccoons apparently will do this.
This message was edited Apr 23, 2010 8:48 AM
I was going to go for a bunny on a pogo stick, but what KC said makes a lot more sense. (not the giant part, but the bird/raccoon part.) They may have been digging for grubs.
WIB,
SW
There was a thread last year that some posted about all the holes, like yours, in their gardens also. After many responses, it was finally found out that the holes were created by birds. I can't remember what type of birds they were, sorry.
Could they be quail by chance? We have a lot of quail here. I don't see hundreds of them out there like you would think considering how many holes there are but they are here. If they are looking for grubs I hope they find them if they're there. My garden looks great this year and I hope that it doesn't get violated by grubs!
Well, it's been aerated, at least! LOL
I have seen birds digging for grubs that live in my compost pile. The ones I saw digging had the compost flying and made big holes. Funny, they dug more like dogs. I thought it was a mammal at first, till I saw them in action. We had a hole like that near our gate, but it seemed deeper and I was thinking snake. I put some small rocks into it. Have seen a garter snake a couple weeks ago, but know the rattlesnakes should be starting.....
It was birds, QG.
BTW, be on the lookout for snakes, we've already seen grass snakes, and a red racer. Still hoping to find a gopher snake. I have a gopher hole that needs to be cleaned out.
Heh, heh, heh . . .
WIB!
SW
Swallows make their nests out of mud and are particular about what kind, could it be swallows making those holes?
