Tunnels in my Allotment

[Alex_Parrott]

Hi, I have recently taken on a new allotment and am digging it over at the moment. I started planting some onions today and as I was making holes for them with my hands I kept finding holes and tunnels that lead me all around the bed. I took off to different areas of the allotment sticking my hand in the ground as I go and the tunnels are everywhere!!

What could it be? some of them are only like a loo roll size so I suspect mice but some I could fit my hand in (all be it not for long!!).

If it is mice, has anyone got any ideas of how to get rid or how I can work the allotment with them. I must say that all the tunneling has made a lovely crumbly soil.

Thanks in advance

Alex

[Aberdeenplotter]

hate to say it but loo role size is more like rat size. could be moles but there would be signs of mole hills. What was there before the plots?

[Alex_Parrott]

hate to say it but loo role size is more like rat size. could be moles but there would be signs of mole hills. What was there before the plots?

Well I have not noticed any mole hills any think I probably would ahve noticed. The allotments have been there for years but before I had it an old gent had really let it go so it wasnt very clean and had rotten veg etc everywhere and lots of rubbish. There are some chooks 3 doors down, could that be a factor?

[Aberdeenplotter]

I may well upset a few people who keep chooks with this post but that isn't the intention. Where there is a free and available source of food there will always be rats. I don't personally keep chooks so I can't and won't comment about quantities to feed them except to say that my grandmother who was a farmer's wife always said that giving the chooks too much feed was just feeding the rats.

Like everything else, hygeine in the plot is important to be able to avoid pests and diseases. My own allotments are adjacent to a plot with pigeon lofts where the hygeine standards are quite frankly abysmal and we have an ongoing problem with vermin. Nuff said.

[VirginVegGrower]

They say that you are never more than 13 feet away from a rat - why 13 feet I don't know. I have chooks and take the feed in at night, every night but know that they will still come hunting it out anyhow. We back onto fields, have two terriers and farm animals surround us, as do the ratty holes, foxy holes and badger holes. WE LOVE IT!
I agree - rat holes for sure. Probably the nearby chooks - traps? For the rats not the hens!!

[lainey lou]

could be voles, we get vole tunnels on our lottie.

[francesbean]

I agree with the rat theory - You could try to deter them by putting out traps and posion - but they are tenancious little blighters. I also keep hens and have a rat problem - I try to keep the area food free and put poison out where the hens/cats etc won't find it - but I also collapse their tunnels on a regular basis -it's good fun actually, but be careful as I've lost my footing a few times.

Good luck

francesbean

[WendyC]

Probably rats

When I had trouble with a rat in my home compost bin the first thing the local council pest control man did was to look for tunnels. Hopefully the might move on if you disturb them. I have found the ones at the allotment are rather partial to sweetcorn!
Wendy

[Alex_Parrott]

Thanks for all your comments. I will try putting traps etc down tomorrow.Where should I place traps on the allotment? in the tunnel or just like near the compost bin and under wood away from the birds?

[Two_Sheds]

I have found the ones at the allotment are rather partial to sweetcorn!

They certainly are: I had some nesting under my shed and when I dug out all their tunnels (loads of them) I found a pile of sweetcorn husks under the shed

You need to do several things:
- don't leave any food around
- destroy any potential nest sites (heaps of rubbish)
- keep your compost heaps watered and turned (rats hate disturbance, and wet beds)
- fill any small gaps under your shed (a large gap is fine)

[Pumpkin Becki]

I have shrews at my allotment, and they have made copious tunnels in my raised beds...I think they might be having a game of 'The Great Escape'. Unfortunately for me and my veg, shrews are protected, so I can't do anything about them.

Alex, if I were you, I'd look at setting humane traps first, just so you can see what creature it is you're dealing with. Just remember to go back and check them regularly.

[vicky]

We have holes like that all over the garden. We also have lots of moles, mice and voles (but I haven't seen a rat here so far...) Ours are def moles as they leave piles of evidence around for me to find!