What would make these holes?

[Muffey]

Small holes keep appearing in my flower bed. They are about 1.5-2 inches wide. They obviously lead to some kind of burrow or tunnel. The only creature I've seen in the garden is a frog. Could a frog be making these holes?

Dont know but I have them too! I do know we have lots of hedgehogs, field mice and my dad thinks he saw a stout bit apparently these dont dig their own burrows. I'd like to know too!

Maybe a vole?

A Google search says maybe mice.

Most likely to be rats. They can squeeze through any hole bigger in diameter than a 10p

I reckon it's probably a rat. Sorry OP.

I’ve had exactly the same. I was advised rats We also have friendly toads. However, a neighbours’s cat has just used part of the vegetable patch as a toilet and dug up all my plants but the holes seem to have disappeared. Think I might just give up trying to grow vegetables!

Bees?

I was thinking bees. Head torch, comfy chair and a flask of tea. Report back in the morning

Wildlife websites say says rat holes are 6 to 9 cm ie 2.5 to almost 4inches so less chance of a rat whereas mice are approx 3cm (1.5inch)

Ooooh interesting. I'm curious now. Maybe I'll get some kind of little camera to record the hole?!?

Bank vole?

Head torch, comfy chair and a flask of tea. Report back in the morning.

Voles, we have got them too. V hard to get rid of unless you have a resident owl or two, or use poison

Whatever is making the holes isn't causing any issues or wrecking any of my plants so I'm not sure it's a problem that needs solving at the moment (fingers crossed). I'm more curious to know what lives down the holes.

The holes were originally in a different bed and to start with I didn't realise an animal was making them and thought they were caused by some work the neighbour was doing on the fence, so I kept filling them back in 😂 but they reappeared every time so in the end I just left them. They gradually caved in but in the last few days new holes have appeared. Weirdly, in two other beds I had big humps, like mole hills, appear for three consecutive days. I would pat them down and then they would appear elsewhere in the beds the following day, and then somewhere different the third day. They've not appeared again since. It's all a curious mystery. Or maybe I've been stuck at home for too long!

Almost certainly either bank voles or field voles - I have dozens of similar holes in my garden and it is a huge pleasure to sit quietly and watch the voles scurrying about, intent on their private business and harming nobody!

Not you OP, but once again I have to ask, why, oh why, are so many people determined to kill or destroy everything which they see as having even a miniscule impact on their life, from ants and spiders to mice, beetles, wasps - you name it and someone, somewhere will be determined to regard it as a threat to their very existence and seek to eradicate or kill it. Most of these species, in some shape or form, were around long before humans - the most destructive, useless and pointless species on the planet - arrived and hopefully will still be around long after we have gone.

Yes why on earth would you kill voles?!

Vacant mouse or vole burrows are frequently used in spring, by bumble bee queens, fresh out of hibernation, to start establishing their colonies. The vast majority, but not all, of our bumble bee species nest below ground. Therefore vole burrows have a secondary use in providing a home for one of the most useful and essential creatures that exist. Not quite symbiosis, but pretty damn close and a lesson which Homo sapiens would do well to learn from.

@Hedgesfullofbirds

Almost certainly either bank voles or field voles - I have dozens of similar holes in my garden and it is a huge pleasure to sit quietly and watch the voles scurrying about, intent on their private business and harming nobody!

Not you OP, but once again I have to ask, why, oh why, are so many people determined to kill or destroy everything which they see as having even a miniscule impact on their life, from ants and spiders to mice, beetles, wasps - you name it and someone, somewhere will be determined to regard it as a threat to their very existence and seek to eradicate or kill it. Most of these species, in some shape or form, were around long before humans - the most destructive, useless and pointless species on the planet - arrived and hopefully will still be around long after we have gone.

I've just been reading about voles and I think they sound like the most likely culprit. It's fascinating, and the children love looking at the holes and speculating what may live down there. I'm definitely not one to kill anything that happens to live in our garden. Tbh if these voles manage to survive our cat, who is a pretty ferocious hunter, the 20,000 other cats belonging to our neighbours who spend all their time lurking in our garden, plus the resident Red Kites who do the rounds each day, then good luck to them 😄

@Hedgesfullofbirds

Vacant mouse or vole burrows are frequently used in spring, by bumble bee queens, fresh out of hibernation, to start establishing their colonies. The vast majority, but not all, of our bumble bee species nest below ground. Therefore vole burrows have a secondary use in providing a home for one of the most useful and essential creatures that exist. Not quite symbiosis, but pretty damn close and a lesson which Homo sapiens would do well to learn from.

I love this! I'd never heard of that before.

Human urine encourages moles and voles to leave the area and dig elsewhere.