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Animal Tunneling Under Mulch: Could Be Moles or Shrews

Beneficial Aeration vs. Pest Activity

Something moving under mulch could be shrews, moles, or insects. If you like free aeration, leave it. For ID, use icwdm.org damage guides. High-res photos with scale help. Moles eat insects, not plants; voles eat plants.

Pests: Maple Borer Damage in Toronto: Imidacloprid Treatment and Wire Method; Ants in Garden & on Eugenia: Granular Bait Solution; Poplar Leaf Spots: Fungal Leaf Spot, Not Insects; Tomato Tops Disappearing: Deer, Rabbit, or Groundhog?; Animal Digging Mulch and Eating Hostas: Skunk, Squirrel, or Vole?; Slug Damage on Young Sunflowers: Organic Control with Iron Phosphate; Mulching a Wildflower Meadow for Moisture Conservation and Reseeding; Lime on Fall Leaves? Don't Do It—Compost Them Right; Diagnosing Trunk Damage on Hollies: Three Culprits Identified; Reusing Old Rose Mulch: Safe Under Non-Rose Plants

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