I have a pest terrorizing my ornamental garden bed. . . I have some first year lorapetalum shrubs I'm trying to nurture to maturity, but something keeps burrowing around them. Also in that bed, I planted about 100 bulbs last fall, including tulips, so I originally thought it was squirrels trying to dig up the tulip bulbs. But the holes I'm finding are pretty deep and look more like tunnels. Is it moles? Snakes? How do you tell? (Other than launching a full on stakeout operation. . .)

Start by spraying with Repellsall ( sp).This is a horrible smelling liquid to add to water and use a pressure sprayer.
Repelsall says all pests.Moles would be in that category ,maybe Voles too.
I have skunks just out of hibernation ,looking for grubs in the lawn and garden.
They dont leave a deep hole,maybe chipmunks ,they borrow.

sounds like chipmunks or voles. Sooner or later if it is chipmunks you should see them running around.

I'll give the Repelsall a try. I've also heard of stakes you can put in the ground that send out vibrations, though I don't think that would help much if it is squirrels or chipmunks.

This may be worth a try - before using chemicals, stick a few pieces of 2-3 foot long rebar into the ground, slip a glass bottle on each piece of rebar, the movement, sound and vibrations may have your plant predators looking for a quieter table in the restaurant. If you use colored glass bottles it can also be quite attractive...repel and attract at the same time!

Love that idea, thanks Greene!

Greene