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Here is a picture I took from 2nd floor window. Just noticed the "dry rivers" on my lawn. Do I have a mole somewhere in the lawn?

panabiker said:

Here is a picture I took from 2nd floor window. Just noticed the "dry rivers" on my lawn. Do I have a mole somewhere in the lawn?
View attachment 22478

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This does not really look like moles. We had an infestation of these things 3 or 4 years ago, and they left "raised" trails all over the yard. You might check the yard closely, and look for any holes, about the size of a silver dollar, where they have come to the surface. If you do find any such holes, stick the garden hose into the hole, and let it run, while watching the area closely. The water will get them moving, and you can easily follow them as they move through their tunnel, and eventually surface. I spent weeks getting rid of them, and so far, so good. I used the water hose, and stomped them as they surfaced. Then I put Mole bait into their holes, and over the course of the Summer, I finally got rid of them. They can sure make a mess of the yard.

If these trails are Not "raised", I would suspect that you have some sort of insect/beetle/grub infestation, and you may have to spread some insect killer (Sevin, etc.) around.

Take a shovel and go out and dig into some of those dead spots.

Pull on some of the dead looking grass. If it pulls easily it may be grubs rather than moles, Harley, Emma and Delver, that normally leave a ridge as they hunt for grubs.

I'll get some lawn insecticide today. I do see quite a few insects, mostly 3/8" long sowbugs. I'm sure grubs too.
Re: deminin's comments, yes there are raised trails in my backyard and holes on the end of the trails. I will try the water hose method and maybe Tomcat. The only thing is I don't like also to kill rabbits. Is Tomcat rabbit-safe? Since my backyard is a mess, I pretty much ignored it. I guess it could spread to the front.

I think I found the answer. While I was trimming the lawn, I saw a dark brown, mouse-like creature about 2.5" long (not counting the tail) running into a hole at the end of one of the "rivers". After looking up online, it's a vole, and here is a page on voles and their damage to lawns.

http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/tips/2007/voles.htm

Oh ya we have lots of those up here. D-con rat and mouse poison does the trick

panabiker said:

I think I found the answer. While I was trimming the lawn, I saw a dark brown, mouse-like creature about 2.5" long (not counting the tail) running into a hole at the end of one of the "rivers". After looking up online, it's a vole, and here is a page on voles and their damage to lawns.

http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/tips/2007/voles.htm

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Ahhh, yes. Voles, a variant of field mice, can do some serious lawn damage. I've never had any in our yard, but I've heard some of the neighbors talk about them. One old country boy up the road said he breaks up sticks of Spearmint Gum, and puts small pieces into their holes....says it bloats up their digestive system, and plugs them up with a severe case of Constipation.