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Arizona Gardening

What dug this hole in my yard?

12 years ago

This hole in my front yard has me a bit creeped out. There was some kind of big insect looking thing in it last night. I screamed like a little girl and ran away, but took these pictures this morning.

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k625/DesertCoupe5_0/IMG_1704.jpg

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k625/DesertCoupe5_0/IMG_1703.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:410776}}

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Comments (9)

ra
12 years ago
what does the insect look like? does it have wings?

honestly that looks a bit too big for an insect to dig out. It looks like a snake dug it we need more info. or can you take a picture of the insect?
desertcoupe
Original Author
12 years ago
Possible the bug was just visiting. There's nobody in there now, at least not that I can see.
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A livestock tank. Buried in the ground? Or above ground? It will be very slick if they plan to actually stand in it and play in it. It would need to be cleaned out very frequently. Otherwise there will be things I would not want to subject my kids to. I grew up playing in water filled ditches and the creek. Of course we got all little itches and rashes, but we lived through it. Although my sister did get a ground itch worm in her foot, that I sure am glad I didn't get. But that was from going bare foot in the muddy yard. Any other ideas would be build a real swimming pool or take them to the beach and there's always the bathtub. Glenda
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Re: white cedar: Truly wonderous places are the naturally occurring groves of these! Seeing this all my life makes me just plain resent all the dumb cultivars of this plant. Okay, I DO like some of the cultivars, and they have great usage in landscaping, but these are trees! When young, they are most typically perfectly straight, single-stemmed, and have tiered branch arrangement not unlike a spruce or fir. As they age, due to branch differentiation and growth, considerable filling in takes place so that they become very dense. More or less pure stands are very common. In favorable conditions, this is not a slow grower in youth. At least a foot is common. They do have some shade tolerance, and when overtopped , they can slowly bide their time till some calamity befalls the overarching foliage. For this reason, they are considered climax species in some forest associations. Having said all this, it is rare to find really tall ones. I think the state record, as far as that which is still standing, is something like 85 ft. If you've seen young, unsheared plicata or GG, these are far more similar than different. Aroma of crushed foliage is heavenly. The white pine on my land range from young saplings all the way up to perhaps 80-90 footers. There are, for some reason, many WP's here that have two leaders, starting maybe 30 ft. up. My guess is either very careless logging or a storm in the past that snapped a lot of them off. Luckily, not all exhibit this deformity. Would someone please patiently explain to me how to post photos? We've got a digital camera (Again....long story) and now, with this land, I'd really like to be able to share some pics. I truly appreciate your interest in these groves of white cedar. It was prerequisite with me in my land search that I end up with some of this feature, or that I have it nearby to allow natural spread onto my land. It's been said that the air is always cooler and moister within these groves, and already this year, we've verified it for ourselves. This is said to be due to their high rate of evapotranspiration. An interesting aside: The DNR Forester stated that most of the WC groves we see in this part of WI got their start during the dustbowl years of the 1930s! It seems the seeds require soil temps of around 85 degrees F. and that the conditions during those years were right for providing this. It seems especially odd to have this be the case for such a tree that seems to signal cool, moist condititons. Nature is truly full of such paradoxes. +oM
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Comments (2)
Could be a Ground Hog (Woodchuck), Ground Squirrel, maybe a Chipmunk. Down by the pond most likely is Muskrats. You could live trap, but then what to do with the animal if you do because in Michigan you need to be licensed by the state to transport wildlife anywhere. Poisons are not recommended since they can do harm to non target thingys, such as children. Flooding of the tunnels will do little because these wee buggers would not have survived longer than us if they had not figured out long ago how to route rain water so that did not flood them. Gassing is also not recommended since hooking a hose to the exhaust to any gasoline engine and sticking the other end into the hole is simply a good way to make an engine mechanic rich. I found many years ago that smoke bombs did nothing except put some of my money in someone else's pocket. Since I've not seen them in a long time they may not be on sale anymore. If these buggers are real pests that need to be removed hiring a wildlife control specialist may be the best option.
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L. sinense is present in cultivation on the west coast. Yet Jacobson, Wild Plants of Greater Seattle - Second Edition (2008) does not mention it (5 other species of Privet are listed by him as occurring wild there). However seedling asked about looks like L. japonicum anyway. (Jacobson (same) says this one "reseeds" in Seattle).
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kanvas
12 years ago
i would guess a rodent made that. Maybe a rock/ground squirrel. Snakes don't dig.
crista
12 years ago
Yup, the insect was just visiting. I could only see one picture. It's possible you've got a gopher, however gopher holes generally aren't this wide and the opening is better defined. Definitely not a snake. The soil looks very dry which makes me suspect that a contributing factor here may be a critter that did a little digging combined with native soil pulling back from the smaller hole that the tree was planted in. Be interesting to put a hose down and see how long it takes to fill up with water! Either way, I'd fill it up with dirt and see if it gets redug. If you've got a gopher you'll see another hole, too. They always have an entry and exit. Keep us posted!
aztreelvr
12 years ago
It could even be a rabbit or other critter.

The hole is close to the emitter you have on this tree so the critter could have been after water.

My suggestion is to move the emitters out to the drip line. That's where 90 percent of the feeder roots are - they are the ones that absorb water and nutrients. Watering close to the trunk can contribute to 'wind throw' or trees blowing over because the soil is moist. The goal is to have fairly dry soil next to the trunk and moist soil where the roots can use it. You may need to add more emitters to moisten the root zone.

Here is a link that might be useful: watering trees and shrubs
campv 8b AZ
12 years ago
It also could be a skunk looking for grubs. It happened last year and I live in a developed neighborhood.
He got into the back yard and started digging holes in the soft wet grass. We finally figured it out from the wonderful aroma and blocked up the bottom of the gate. Then he started in the front yard. We got rid of the grubs and the skunk went away
amadioranch
12 years ago
You guys can be pretty silly sometimes! Havent any of you ever seen a gopher hole?? Ive trapped about 150 of the little buggers out of the ranch here.
campv 8b AZ
12 years ago
Now that I look at the picture better it does look like a gopher hole some what, but it is a tad wide and not very round. Did you remove any of the dirt it dug out? Take a stick or the hose and try to determind how deep it is. If it is only 3" deep it could be from a skunk looking for grubs (they tend to dig at slight slant)if you can not find an end then it probly is a gopher. Amadioranch I too have killed hundreds of those little critters, either with the pellet gun or with golf course candys. The hole still doesn't look right for gophers to me. Sorry
littleluey
12 years ago
well, did you ever find out what it was?

i have lizard digging holes by my trees in my yard but that hole looks different.

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