Question From: B. Novotny - Casper, Wyoming, United States
Q: We have a fair amount of snow buildup in the winter. When the snow starts to melt it does it fairly rapidly. The lawn then develops a spiderweb design of trenches entailing dead grass. We will get periods of warm weather and significant melting before the next snow. During that interim I will rake out the dead grass. It almost looks like mole or gopher damage (of which I am familiar with) but there is no exit or hole or entrance. It cleared up last summer after raking and reseeding. (sandy loam) I've looked up various turf diseases however none seem to match this unusual pattern
My guess is what you see is vole damage. This member of the mouse family tunnels about under the snow and feeds on the live stubble in your lawn. Gardeners often set mouse traps baited with peanut butter in fall to rid the area of these pests. Best And Happy Yardening, Nancy
