The phantom plant killer!!!

[lesa]

Good chicken!!

 

[NwMtGardener]

So i always thought a "crawdad" was an aquatic critter... A crayfish?? What exactly makes those dirt castle things you were describing??

 

[vfem]

Oh yeah... VOLE all the way... its like an evil mouse/mole mix. Did I say evil? I meant little fuzzy satans!!!!

 

[digitS']

I think it will turn out to be a vole. Better that than disease . . .

I have had success with a hose set on trickle. Had them under tomato plants one year (many times, really). Turned the water on and went back about an hour later - soil drains well here. A vole swam up out of the puddle, blew his nose and shook himself before running off into the neighbor's yard!

So surprised that I didn't even move to step on him . . .

UCDavis says you can trap them with an ordinary mouse trap - bait with peanut butter and oatmeal or apple.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

Agree. I think a vole is your criminal. Good luck.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

So i always thought a "crawdad" was an aquatic critter... A crayfish?? What exactly makes those dirt castle things you were describing??

You know what? I feel kind of stupid 'cause I don't know much about them. They are in every creek and pond throughout the midwest. They are a major component in the diet of a bass (fish). There are millions of 'em all over Indiana. Some of them (maybe a different type) go inland and dig nice little round holes in the soil when it is wet. They pile up the soil all around the little hole in thick layers and eventually the "castle" or "volcano" gets anywhere from 4" to 12" tall. I'm thinking that maybe it's the female that is digging a burrow to lay eggs or to bear her young. Anyone who has a lake or pond hates to see these destructive creatures on the dam. They can completely demolish an earthen dam. It's a shame they don't taste as good as the crawfish in Louisiana.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Haha, i was thinking the same thing (i feel stupid!) when i read YOUR comment about the crawdad, because i grew up with them in PA, and i thought we were refering to the same 'miniature lobster' looking thing, but i never knew that they dug burrows! Just goes to show what you miss sometimes in the real world!