Yard Critters & Moles

If you're a gardener, then almost nothing may be more frustrating than trying to figure out which critter is digging up your landscape and feasting on the rewards of your hard work. Although moles, which are rodents, are blamed for quite a bit of damage, several other kinds of creatures may have more serious effects. Not surprisingly, most of those pesky critters are also rodents.

Moles don't eat plants; instead, the little rodents feed on damaging lawn grubs and other invertebrates. Moles cause damage with their tunnels, however. They burrow underground, creating extensive tunnel systems to get from one place to another place. The soil above the tunnels often becomes raised, causing upheaval of plants. These tunnels can help aerate lawn but also can become an eyesore. Several mole traps and deterrents are available at retailers such as garden centers and nurseries.

Although many people enjoy watching chipmunks leap across the ground, stuff their cheeks with food and twitch their little tails, these quirky little ground squirrels can cause a lot of damage to landscapes. Like moles, chipmunks create tunnels. Unlike moles, these striped critters will feed voraciously on the tender plants, nuts, seeds, fruits, roots and bulbs you strategically placed throughout your landscape. Plant cages or live traps help to control chipmunks.

Various species of rabbits, including cottontails, inhabit landscapes across the United States and cause varying amounts of damage. A newly sprouted vegetable garden is set up like an all-you-can-eat buffet for these tuft-tailed, long-eared creatures. Short, poultry-wire fencing keeps rabbits out of a vegetable garden, but you may want to use a repellent or scare tactic to keep them out of your landscape beds.

Voles resemble a cross between mice and moles. These little creatures travel through a yard via a series of tunnels, feeding on roots, tubers, bulbs and other vegetation as they go. Their damage is rarely severe, although they can cause significant damage if their numbers are high enough. Traps or mesh wire placed underground can help to protect plantings from the gnawing incisors of these small rodents.

Woodchucks aren't as damaging as some other rodents, but their large size definitely increases their individual amounts of damage. Woodchucks prefer to feed near dusk and dawn. Their favorite foods are a lot of the plants commonly grown in landscapes. Thick-stemmed flowering plants and vegetables are among their favorites, but they also chew on bark. Fencing can help keep woodchucks out of a vegetable garden; their damage often isn't severe enough to warrant other types of control.