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Grex > Nature > #24: Mutant burrowing bees or rodents? Help? | |
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| Author |
Message |
chelsea
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Mutant burrowing bees or rodents? Help?
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Jul 18 14:38 UTC 1992 |
In our far-backyard there is this hole in the grass that's maybe
three inches in diameter leading to a tunnel. Now, I haven't
stuck anything in the hole to see how far it goes, mostly because
I'm a chicken, but also because bees are frequently seen entering
and exiting. The area surrounding this opening has lots of barely
submerged tree roots which make the ground surface lumpy and the
previous owner had a Irish Setter who liked to dig back there.
So, knowing all that, I'd like to figure out what's happening
below ground. Is there such a thing as burrowing bees? How do I
determine if gophers are present and when and what do you do to
get rid of them?
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| 28 responses total. |
jdg
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response 1 of 28:
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Jul 18 15:42 UTC 1992 |
Oh, yes, there are. There are several species that nest underground.
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arthur
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response 2 of 28:
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Jul 18 15:55 UTC 1992 |
Bumblebees do, don't they? And some wasps.
Could you please describe what the bees look like?
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chelsea
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response 3 of 28:
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Jul 18 18:22 UTC 1992 |
About the same color as honeybees but somewhat smaller and faster.
Do they nest just inside an existing hole or do they create holes
and burrow?
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katie
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response 4 of 28:
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Jul 18 20:25 UTC 1992 |
Lots of bees burrow, but usually their holes aren't very wide. My mom
has some small bees which are a pretty green metallic color. They come
out of holes in the ground that are only as wide as the bee.
Bumble bees live in holes.
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danr
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response 5 of 28:
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Jul 18 23:10 UTC 1992 |
Yellowjackets also burrow. We get them every so often in the flower
beds lining our driveway. I don't think the holes they make are nearly
that big, though.
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jdg
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response 6 of 28:
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Jul 19 02:25 UTC 1992 |
We have carpenter bees here at our place. They burrow into eaves and other
wood structures along our roofline. Huge bees, they look like bumblebees
on steroids. They don't sting, just look fierce. They chew, instead. You
can hear them chewing and watch the sawdust come down. We haven't had 'em
this year, but we have been controlling 'em with chemistry for the past
7 years..
I wonder why they're not here this year?
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dam
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response 7 of 28:
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Jul 19 05:11 UTC 1992 |
I suppose it might be possible that your bees dug their hole somewhere
inside the larger burrow.
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keats
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response 8 of 28:
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Jul 19 16:26 UTC 1992 |
probably killer bees.
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chelsea
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response 9 of 28:
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Jul 29 14:08 UTC 1992 |
Well, the bee problem seems to have resolved, mostly because
whatever it is that's living down that hole has destroyed the nest
with some of that earth moving equipment. I mean, this tunnel now
has an opening about six or eight inches in diameter, with a nice
ramp going down, and and an approach so well used the grass has a
worn path. I swear at night I can hear the sound of diesel
engines down there.
So... I've decided to try diplomacy. Whatever it is now has a
name, Boris, and every night I go out and have a little chat with
it (or at least the hole), ending with a wish for a "good
evening". My anxiety level is somewhere between a National Geographic
Special and Caddyshack.
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remmers
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response 10 of 28:
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Jul 30 13:27 UTC 1992 |
Hey, Boris was the groundhog who lived & foraged in my old back yard
in Pittsfield Twp. Are you suggesting that he followed me?
Actually, the enlargement of the hole, which took place about a week
ago, was quite spectacular. What kinds of creatures live in underground
burrows like that? Could it be a.... skunk?
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keats
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response 11 of 28:
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Jul 30 16:26 UTC 1992 |
it would be really neat if it were an aardvark. that would explain your lack
of an insect problem.
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aaron
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response 12 of 28:
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Jul 30 18:14 UTC 1992 |
You could always use the good old-fashioned prairie remedy -- stick a hose
down the hole and fill the burrow with water. You won't find out what
lives down there if it is a mammal, as it will have more than one exit,
but it will have to leave the burrow.
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keats
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response 13 of 28:
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Jul 30 19:05 UTC 1992 |
thank you, aaron "mr. humane society" larson...
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chelsea
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response 14 of 28:
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Jul 30 21:38 UTC 1992 |
Yeah, I don't want to kill it or hurt it in any way. I don't even mind it
living back there with an open-ended lease as long as I can be assured
it isn't doing any damage to tree roots and that it's not going to
make the ground back there so lumpy we won't be able to use the yard
for anything.
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remmers
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response 15 of 28:
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Jul 30 21:48 UTC 1992 |
I asked about the skunk possibility specifically because when we came
home late one evening last week, there was a strong skunk odor in the
air, and our cat Winston, who was outside, had a bit of odor on him.
(Not enough to require a bath, thank heavens.)
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keats
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response 16 of 28:
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Jul 30 22:14 UTC 1992 |
winston wouldn't have managed, absentmindedly, to have gotten a streak of
white paint down his back, would he?
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aaron
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response 17 of 28:
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Jul 31 00:04 UTC 1992 |
re #13: Geez. I didn't suggest blocking the exit, did I?
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keats
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response 18 of 28:
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Jul 31 02:52 UTC 1992 |
perhaps some other animals could form a little picket line so that the
whatever-it-is would be afraid to cross it?
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bad
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response 19 of 28:
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Aug 4 13:36 UTC 1992 |
Odorists.
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klaus
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response 20 of 28:
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Aug 5 12:05 UTC 1992 |
Maybe you could hook a trip wire to the shutter of a camera with flash.
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remmers
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response 21 of 28:
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Aug 15 12:40 UTC 1992 |
Our next door neighbor, Bill, is a naturalist. He stuck his arm in
the hole (definitely the sign of a person who's on comfortable terms
with nature) and announced that it's a ground squirrel's nest.
Ground squirrels are small rodents that look a bit like chipmunks.
Unlike gophers or moles, they don't do a lot of burrowing and hence
don't tend to damage lawns. So we're feeling hospitable toward
the critter.
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keats
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response 22 of 28:
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Aug 15 13:36 UTC 1992 |
feed it, feed it!
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chelsea
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response 23 of 28:
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Aug 15 14:17 UTC 1992 |
We are, we are. I'm sure the little critter is helping him or herself
to the dicarded seeds from the birdfeeder and when something a little
more "gourmet" is in order, our friend digs up newly planted mums and
nibbles on the roots.
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morel
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response 24 of 28:
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Aug 15 16:02 UTC 1992 |
John, could you ask your neighbor if he could be a bit more specific than
just "ground squirrel"? I'm looking in my mammals field guide, and don't
see any ground squirrels that are supposed to be native to this area.
I'm not saying he's wrong, as the range maps in such guides are not always
exact, but I've never seen anything that looks like a ground squirrle around
here. I'd be happy to learn something new!
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