What is living in these holes

19 years ago

Hi,

I just noticed these today. They are at the base of a white pine in a wooded area in from of our house. You can see the scale from the corn.

We live in the mountains of western North Carolina, although we are actually in a valley at about 2200 feet.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Jeanne

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Comments (9)

kentuck_8b
19 years ago
How big(diameter) are the holes and how deep do they go?

They look almost like 'cave-ins', where something dug underground, then it caved in. It's kind of hard to tell from the photo.

Kt
jean001
19 years ago
Perhaps holes from a small rodent -- voles.
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
19 years ago
Did you sprinkle the corn so that we could judge the size of the holes, or was it already there when you discovered the holes?

The holes look just like snake holes to me, another possibility for you to think about. (But snakes would not be corn eaters, lol.)
jcsgreenthumb
Original Author
19 years ago
Hi all,

To answer some of your questions... The holes are probably an inch or so wide and about 3-4" deep. The corn is from a squirrel feeder. They were raiding the bird feeder, so we put up a block of corn and nuts. I don't know if the eaten corn is from the squirrels alone or other animals too.

I don't think it is a cave in as our ground is very dry right now and we have a layer of leaf litter built up.

So, I guess rodents of some sort would probably be the best bet. I didn't check the depth of the holes when I first posted, but now that I know they aren't deep, it does rule out a lot of animals.

Thanks everyone! If I actually solve the mystery, I'll let you know.

Jeanne
sgray
19 years ago
Could they be cicada holes? Have you noticed a lot of these noisy large insects singing in the trees lately? We had similar holes in a metro New Orleans park, did some research, and came to the conclusion they were cicada holes.
horsetail
19 years ago
Bumble bees live down holes like this that lead to a chamber. The queen lays her eggs in the chamber. The eggs can survive there for a couple of years. When they sense that the weather conditions are right they will hatch and come out.
abbigail2
19 years ago
Ground Squirrels and or Chipmunks will both raid bird feeders and both live underground. Tis possibly one of those.
laurabs
19 years ago
Could be moles or voles.
comettose
19 years ago
I vote snake holes as I have them in my yard and I've seen small snakes use them. Not a big deal, just a place to hang out when needed.

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What is living in these holes

Comments (9)

kentuck_8b

jean001

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

jcsgreenthumb
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sgray

horsetail

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comettose

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What is living in these holes

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