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Moles are insectivores and tunnel through yards looking for earthworms, grubs, and beetles. This activity leaves a subsurface run that exposes the grasses roots to air and killing the grass.
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Eastern moles often excavate large amounts of dirt, which form mounds. This is done so the mole can go deeper to find food. In areas like this the tunnels are sometimes harder to find because of their depth.
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Long, fairly straight runs like this are the mole's traveling runs between food areas and/or resting areas. Moles tend to keep these runs open for quick, easy travel.
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Here we see damage done by a gopher to the root system of shrubs in landscaping. They don't always eat the roots, but will chew through them to get where they are going.
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Pocket gopher mounds are typically found in a line like this. Their mounds are wider and less steep compared to mole mounds. They also often have a "dimple" on one side.
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As you see here, even a little frost does not stop gophers from looking for food. As long as the tubers they eat aren't frozen they will keep collecting food. They often collect food and store it in caches located underground.
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Voles eat the grass as new shoots grow out of the soil. Here you can see the dead areas which look like trails. These trails are often very visible after snow melts in yards and the grass is recovering.
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The damage seen here caused by a vole in a garden. This is an artichoke plant that voles chewed on.
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This is an example of voles chewing on the bark of a small oak tree. This is called girdling. Because of the bark damage this tree will be deformed trying to heal itself.
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