All over my lawn, I have holes that are 1-2 inches across but appear to lead into tunnels. What is making these holes? They are not big enough for rats or rabbits.
I went to see my mum and she took me through a lengthy tour of her field and all the holes it contains. Rabbit holes, mole holes, bee holes, mice holes – it was quite the tour, because every hole needed to be examined carefully. One of the holes was made by a long-tailed field mouse (aka wood mouse) and it sounds very similar to yours – it’s about an inch across and leads to a burrow.
Their population can explode quickly if they like the conditions, and my mum tells me they can appear all over the place. Then at some critical mass it all gets too much and they move off to find new territory – overnight they seem to disappear.
My mum was pleased when they returned because they are an important source of food for barn owls. She also told me this: there are probably more long-tailed field mice in this country than rats. They like to eat seeds, berries, snails, insects and fungi. I love her because she spends a lot of time looking at the world beneath her feet.
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