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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

Mystery hole!

16 replies

shovetheholly · 08/04/2016 11:15

A hole has appeared in my garden overnight!

It's really quite deep - about a foot down. And about a foot wide. The texture of the soil around is like it's been finely turned (like after potatoes). It's just where my rodgersia was. I'm hoping the rodgersia root hasn't been eaten, but I'm not optimistic.

There was nothing there to encourage an animal to do this - no bokashi compost or anything like that! What could it be? Would foxes do this?

OP posts:
TheSpottedZebra · 08/04/2016 18:20

Shock Yikes!

Front or back?
Was the plant stolen?

Any signs of animal tracks or droppings?

You'd not used BFB or bone meal? I now have to put mesh over any BFB areas as the foxes will just dig to get to it. But that is a deep hole that sounds man made. ..

bookbook · 08/04/2016 20:33

oh no....
do you have foxes around you? ( mind you, would you know unless you see them?) dare I mention moles? or do they just burrow along grass?

TheFogsGettingThicker · 09/04/2016 10:14

Years ago, we had a villa in Florida. We had a nice little sago palm in the middle of the front lawn.

Next time we came, we no longer had a little sago palm in the lawn, but a hole Sad. Maybe someone else's had died and they wanted to replace it.

Anyway, I hope that hasn't happened to you, and rodgersia is still there. Or that it was a fox, going after a big earthworm that kept going deeper?

Lindy2 · 09/04/2016 10:51

Any chance it was a badger? They are prolific diggers.

TheFogsGettingThicker · 09/04/2016 11:22

Actually, didn't mean to sound so alarmist Blush

More than likely was digging animal

Ifailed · 10/04/2016 07:16

That sounds quite big for an animal to dig over night? There aren't any services, drains etc running though your garden?

marriednotdead · 10/04/2016 07:37

Could it be a sinkhole? Has there been an excavation/mining in the area historically? Be very careful!

wonkylegs · 10/04/2016 07:41

We had a hole like this appear a while back, was curious but did nothing about it came back out the next day to find a dead chicken buried in it - I suspect the fox got disturbed whilst burying his loot.

AliciaMayEmory · 10/04/2016 07:44

It's the Were-Rabbit!

Original poster
shovetheholly · 11/04/2016 10:23

So I raked the soil back over and sorted out the hole and IT HAS REAPPEARED!! Shock Shock Shock

Garden is pretty secure - and that bit of it is looking particularly unattractive at the moment as it is quite empty (I am moving all the plants out preparatory to having building work done). There is no way a human being would even know there is a rodgersia in there, because it's still below ground, and they are not that nickable anyway. It's definitely an animal of some kind. It's definitely not a sink hole - the earth has been scraped up, I suspect by paws, though I can't see any tracks that identify what did it! And it's right up by the house at the back. Not a mole, either - I have had those in the past and it's hard to miss the tell-tale signs. This isn't a mound but a hole.

We have both foxes and badgers around us. I suspect it's one of the two but no idea what they are looking for??!

OP posts:
Ifailed · 11/04/2016 11:14

The Beast of Shovetheholly's Garden?
Seriously, I have no idea, but assuming it is foxes/badgers can you not cover it up in some way to deter them?

Original poster
shovetheholly · 11/04/2016 12:10

Grin I want it to be an escaped lion now.

Its not too much of a problem for me because it's in an area I'm not really using. I'd love to know what's doing it, though, and why. My guess is that it's something burrowing for worms? grubs? something like that! It's odd that it's always in the same place.

OP posts:
Ifailed · 11/04/2016 13:15

Hopefully not a lion!

You maybe want to discourage them, especially if a badger. If it turns out they are building a new sett, you will having problems as it would be protected by law, especially worrying if you are planning to build there ( wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Ref/bookscontents/rspca-problems_with_badgers/5_BadgersInTheWay.htm ). I would try and cover it up with something, and try and block up any obvious entry point(s).

Sorry if this is a bit OTT, or alarming!

CutYourHairAndGetAJob · 11/04/2016 13:18

This happened in my garden, I concluded it was a fox. It had that distinctive foxy smell for a start

Original poster
shovetheholly · 11/04/2016 13:42

There's no smell at all - just doublechecked, and as a result of having a closer look, I have found paw prints! Unfortunately they are not distinct enough to say for definite what it is. Foxes are most likely! I am going to need one of those trail cams aren't I?!

OP posts:
bookbook · 11/04/2016 22:46

mmm - paw prints , so most likely a fox, but could it possibly be a dog ?

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