QuestionI have some mysterious holes in my back yard and can not, for the life of me, figure out what is "in" them or causing them. I'm sure I look like a fruit cake to my neighbors, if they can see my efforts on trying to identify what is causing the holes, from their upstairs window.
Here's the info that I have gathered through my forensic studies of the holes... and I am being sarcastic, there, LOL.
The holes are tiny... they are a quarter of an inch at the largest, and about an eight of an inch at the smallest. The depth of the holes appears to be no deeper than 1 inch, if that. There are no mounds... there are no pellets on the outside of the holes. There are probably 30 or more holes. The holes are in a part of my yard that doesn't have grass, maybe 3 square feet in size... however, there are a few of these holes in the grassy parts of the yard where the grass is thinner that I can see. The area of dirt where the holes are directly touches the foundation of my home, and the concrete of the back patio. (I don't know if that's important, so I'm throwing it it.)
These are the actions I have taken to try and identify what could be causing the holes or identifying what might be inside of the holes:
I have used my son's sandbox shovel (and managed to break it, too) to dig up a hole and the surrounding dirt. I then sifted through the dirt looking for any signs of movement or life. I bet I've dug up twenty of these littel holes! (My insanity is building at this point.) In my dirt sifting I have found what apears to be the "skin" or "shedding" of a very small bug... less than an 1/8 of an inch. This skin is white. This lead me to believe that the holes were caused by a larvae of some sort hatching and then abandoning ship... but I was wrong because of the NEXT thing I discovered about the holes.
Moving right along... if I cover the holes with dirt (not piling thick piles of dirt but just using my shoe to push dirt over them) they re-appear within half an hour. However, I cannot catch these little boogers in action. Whatever they are... they are sneaky... and fast! This let me know that the holes are not vacant, as an empty house doesn't open it's own doors.
Also... I have FINALLY caught a glimpse of the creature causing my maniacal obsession with discovering what is in or causing the holes. WHATEVER it is will appear at the top of the hole... it *appears* to be greyish/black in color and can fill the entire opening of the hole, so I would say at least a quarter of an inch in size. If I so much as exhale, the creature dashes back down into the hole convincing me that I am now hallucinating. I then dig as fast as I can because I *know* something is in the hole and still turn up empty handed. It's like playing "Whack A Mole!" As soon as I spot them, they dash down! They remind me of those crabs on the beach that can dart in a hole so quickly that you would think you were seeing things. At this point, I am beginning to *think* I AM seeing things.
I live in the North East Texas Region. Hmmm... what else? Oh, the dirt is not loose... like dirt that would blow in the wind or dirt that an ant lion would make it's cool tornado home in... it has some moisture to it but is not in a "wet" area. That is all of the information I can think of that could possibly help in identifying the holes that are tormenting me. The holes themselves are not bothering me, but no knowing what is causing them or in them is making me NUTS!
I have googled, asked jeeves, and searched the internet for days without luck. Any info, tips, clues, or hints would be SO greatly appreciated!
Many thanks!
Kelly (certain to be committed to an asylum if I don't discover what is in or causing these holes!)
Answer "I have googled, asked jeeves, and searched the internet for days without luck."
I am honored indeed that you should ask 'little me'; but this does not put any pressure on me to come up with a credible answer. Not at all! Think nothing of it!
But seriously; your CSI efforts have been painstaking indeed and you deserve to make a determination of this issue. I have to go with antlion. The only 'fly in the ointment' is that the slope of the sides of the trap does not appear to be loose enough. "Wikipedia" alludes to the "angle of repose" which is determined mainly to the physical properties of the soil. I learnt this from 'ditch digging 101'. But if the soil condition is firmer (e.g. a concrete slope) then the angle can be steeper. In the case of a concrete slope the angle can get so steep that it is difficult to maintain foothold (see climbing walls 101). We (I have bought into this challenge) are dealing with small (microscopic?) measurements here. Our antlions have engineered the slope of their traps to the point that prey accidentally rushing in where others will not even tread, slide uncontrollably into the waiting jaws of certain death. If you buy into this 'theory' then all of your other astute observations fall into place and we can put QED to this one.
But... I am reminded of the saying, "One of the tragedies of this life is the murder of a beautiful theory by a brutal gang of facts".
If you think that I enjoyed this, you are so right. Thanks!!!
