Mole/Vole or something else?

QTPie

[/URL]

What do you think?

We have had a mole. Had a catcher in, took a good month, nothing. Some of the traps got set off when the lawn was scarifier/aerated. I told the catcher, he said he would come and check/reset them in a few days. 10 days later he came and said he found the mole dead in one of the traps - I wasn't home at the time. Since them I am seeing activity again. Is the photo above a mole (either the original - cynical me - or a second) or could it be that voles are monopolising on the empty mole tunnels?

Thanks

Davesnave

It's not a mole.

From here it doesn't look like it goes very deep, so it could be a squirrel digging to bury a nut, or something else digging to retrieve a nut already buried.

When I lived near the Botanical Gardens, I saw scrapes like that in there frequently. I always assumed they were squirrel-related, but I suppose there were foxes and badgers present too.

Voles leave distinctive open holes on my very light soil, making it nigh impossible to have a good lawn, though that isn't a priority here. They may well colonise old mole runs, but apart from the holes and tunnel collapses, the voles seem to cause no problems in the garden.

arbrighton

Quite possibly badger- looks very much like our garden last year (and we caught him on the CCTV camera)

firefox1956

Squirrel,.......

Horace

It could be a squirrel but more likely to be a badger.

QTPie

Thanks very much - hugely appreciated

You are right: the holes do not appear to be deep - appears more to be a bit of turf lifted and scraping ...

Haven't seen any badgers. Our garden is really quite enclosed (massive quarry type wall at the back - a badger couldn't hop in and out easily). What should I look for?

We definitely have lots of squirrels (it is like the enchanted forest around here with birds and squirrels). Don't suppose there is anything I can do to discourage?

firefox1956

Yes there is something you could do to discourage the squirrel.......I don't think you would like the answer though !!