Garden Question

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Skins_Brew

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Can anyone ID what these little holes are that are appearing in my garden? and do I need to worry about them? They are in the flower bed all along the front of the house, as you can see in the pics. I know I have some type of burrowing rodents in my yard, shrews I think, because one ended up in my post holes for my fence and I saw another one in this very garden. The rodents were the size of a small mouse. Thanks!

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Yep - I'd say antlions. Savage little beasts.

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Those funnel-shaped 'holes' are ingenious little traps for wayward ants.
 
You can find out if they are antlions by lightly touching the inside of the cone with a small stick and see if they come out and attack it. They are pretty fun to watch. Or throw a couple of ants in one and watch. Antlions kick up small dirt particles to keep the ant from getting enough traction to get out and then they grab them and drag them under.
You can get rid of them by keeping the area wet. They only live in arid areas.
 
Doodle bugs are the coolest "good" critter in your yard. They will eat anything that will fall into the hole. They will cause NO damage to the yard (other than the small holes) and are fun to play with. Find an any crawling and drop him in the hole.
 
I could not lure the beast out of the hole with a stick. I tried on several of the pits but no joy. If it is antlions, then is is possible that they abandon the hole and start a new on. There was a dead fly in the bottom of one of the pits.
 
Hmmm, voles huh? Do your holes just look like little pits or can you actually see the tunnel too? Maybe I will get a mouse trap and see if I can catch one to verify. I was out looking at the holes today and there was something moving under the surface of the mulch. I tried to dig it up to no success.
 
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