Cause of tunnels in bermuda lawn? Moles?
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Mole tunnels everywhere
Comments (16)We had a huge vole problem at my one house. I was desperate, tried the Jerry Baker stuff. I remember using Pinesol and Juicy Fruit gum. Don't know what finally got rid of them. Voles @ Wiki Diet Depending on the species, the vole's diet consists of seeds, tubers, conifer needles, bark, various green vegetation such as grass and clover, and insects. Some species will die, however, if deprived from their main meal, Douglas Fir Needles, for too long Moles @ Wiki Diet A mole's diet primarily consists of earthworms and other small invertebrates found in the soil. The mole may also occasionally catch small mice at the entrance to its burrow. Because their saliva contains a toxin that can paralyze earthworms, moles are able to store their still living prey for later consumption. They construct special underground "larders" for just this purpose; researchers have discovered such larders with over a thousand earthworms in them. Before eating earthworms, moles pull them between their squeezed paws to force the collected earth and dirt out of the worm's gut.[3] The Star-nosed Mole can detect, catch and eat food faster than the human eye can follow (under 300 milliseconds)....See MoreTunnels in Lawn?
Comments (5)I actually had a rabbit do similar damage recently. I came home from work one day, and there it was, just sitting there, in the track, or landing strip (which is what I had "seen"). It wasn't deep at all, but who knows what would've happened if the rabbit had gone undisturbed. But it had cleared a nice strip of lawn, and it looked like the intent was to burrow deeper. I've had rabbits from the day I moved in (12 years now), and never had I seen this kind of damage before in my lawn......See MoreDoes this look like moles taking over?
Comments (4)Lol.....I'm laughing WITH you, not at you! I promise you that your lawn has not been invaded by skillful and artistic moles. That's a perfectly normal phenomenon seen in bermudagrass after the first hard frost. It doesn't happen every year, the environmental conditions have to be right. What happens is that the soil absorbs heat from the sun during the day and is radiated back up at night. That radiated heat is enough to prevent frost damage, but because of the pattern and growth habit of the turf, some blades get zapped while others stay green.....until the next time. It's normal thermodynamics and very common. That's not to say that you don't have moles....you might! But you'll know a mole tunnel when you see it. Even mole crickets don't cause that kind of patterning. Don't worry, your lawn will soon be the same color....See MoreBermuda Lawn P77 and 419
Comments (6)Thanks for the compliments.......it was a buttload of work getting back to where it is now. Low mowing is the way to go. I've been mowing at 1/2" all summer, but I finally conceded and raised my mower to 3/4". The reason I went with P77 was primarily due to convenience, it was easier to get a bag of seed, and apply it, than getting 2 pallets of 419 and dealing with all the ancillary stuff involved with it. Only a sharp eye can even see the diff, and that's only if I point it out. Heh....the HOA knows me as "The guy that has the golf course in his front yard." "Where do you live?" I'm in Jacksonville. 8A/B, I get full sun all day long. What is your watering schedule? How often and for how long? My watering schedule is on an "As needed" basis. I haven't had to water much, but when I do, it's early in the morning and I give it a good soaking. It gets well over 1 inch per watering. Why do you think you have some thin spots? It looks like sand. It is sand. I had to topdress and fill some holes that were generated by tire ruts. I also have a family of moles that decided to take up residence under the mailbox. They ran roughshod for 6 months before I could do anything about them. Heh......Their number is three less than when I started fixing my lawn. The other areas are from rainwater runoff from the roof. I'm going to run gutters to keep this from recurring, but I haven't had a chance to get it done yet. I fertilized at a higher than bag rate during the spring, trying to get the bare areas to fill in quickly. That strategy has mostly succeeded. I switched over to Milorganite, I used the entire bag on my 1300 sq.ft. lawn, last month and it's been the gift that keeps on giving. It's been a fun project!...See Morereeljake
7 years agot c25
7 years ago5"!!?? Picture must be deceiving that's about 1.5". Also a pic of the top of tunnel showing dirt.
reeljake
7 years ago
hawksster .
7 years agot c25
7 years agot c25
7 years agoturflife419
7 years agoLooks like it could possibly be mole crickets, those things love bermuda. I currently have a problem with these insects. They are normally most active in early spring and then resume activity late summer or early fall. I can usually pull the grass up along these tunnels and it has no roots left. I hate all the lumps they leave where the tunneling occurs not to mention the bald spots. They have been a little difficult for me to control but I'll admit I haven't been consistently hitting them with insecticide through the spring and summer when they are immature and supposed to be easier to obtain control. They become more difficult to control when fully matured. I have used a granular and liquid insecticide containing bifenthrin last year and the year before applied in late May with decent results. This year I used the liquid bayer complete insect killer which contains imidacloprid and beta-cyfluthrin. I don't feel this year's treatment was as good as the previous year when I used bifenthrin but this may be due to the timing of my application with the different active ingredient and I only made one app. Everything I have read states timing is critical in obtaining control.
Here's a couple examples of my mole cricket damage.
I haven't attacked them since they have reemerged this fall but I may give them a dose of liquid bifenthrin and see if it gets some of them. I plan to be more proactive next season and hopefully eradicate the mole crickets.
Anyone here have experience with these?
dchall_san_antonio