Lawns vs. Hole-Builders

[SLOBuds]

I bought a beautiful country parcel in January. It has a cute duplex on it, with an area that I'd like to turn into a country lawn. Maybe one acre. Wooded.

This whole parcel is LOADED with hole-builders. I know that some of them are gophers. But there are also squirrels, snakes, and other below-surface-dwellers who pop up everywhere.

So what's the skinny here for my country lawn? Do I just fill these holes in as I go, and level out the little hills as best as possible? Or do I attempt to eradicate/discourage? Strike a compromise?

As a side issue I am wondering how many hole-dwellers might be considred 'normal?' I am wondering if there might be some type of ecological imbalance because there are several holes within every 100 square feet of the property.

I would like to think that control will be less than a full-time job.

Thanks.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Lots of those hole-diggers will move on once you start clearing and mowing. We tend to have hole diggers here as well, chipmunks, moles, squirrels, even armadillos. and a regular (monthly) mowing keeps them at bay. The only permanent hole dwellers I have are a pair of Gopher Tortoises in the yard. I know around here the best way to keep the ants down is with regular mowing.

I'm not sure what would be considered a normal amount. I would guess it would depend on the location and surroundings.

 

[TC18guy]

I've been chasing chipmunks here since spring. I've "removed" 6 of them in the last 2 weeks. The hole digging seems to have stopped. I just fill the holes in as I find them (probably 15-20 on the acre in the backyard).

I think it's a 2 part problem. find out what is attracting them to your yard, and getting rid of them. As mentioned above, I think regular use will discourage alot of it.

My old city lot that abutted a small creek had an abundance of snakes, frogs, etc. until we got our dogs. they seem to have a way of patrolling their yard for critters too. Only problem is they dig bigger holes!

 

[SLOBuds]

I've noticed the same thing about dogs. We have some dogs on the property now and I can't tell whether some of the large holes are from the dogs or from other critters.

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to just fill holes and level out the mounds for now. Maybe between the dogs and watering and regular mowing all of the hole-builders will wander off to more hospitable places.