I saw a lot of voles (??or gophers) in Michigan as a child. We spent one summer in Grand Haven. They where fun to watch. The game where you hit the gopher when it pops up always reminds me of that summer. Not that we hit them but how they would pop up out of the holes.

Our voles are probably 3-4" long, blackish grey and have a pointed nose with 4 sharp teeth that are usually showing out of their tiny little daylily crown eating mouths. They destroy a daylily in days and it's usually too late to save by the time I noticed the plant dying. UGHHHH!!! I just nearly hate these things. I encourage our cats to catch them as much as anyone can encourge a cat.

I even go to the point of moving the snakes away from the house out into the woods. I'll pick one up if I'm positive of the id. The garter snakes that we have will not bite so they are easily handled. The rat snake will strike and I've been bitten by them. It's kinda like the little saw teeth on a cat fish biting but it doesn't hurt like a catfish. We have many non posionous snakes so I had to learn what they were in self defense. Self defense defined as nearly killing myself trying to run backwards away from the snakes when I would be down on my hands and knees playing in the dirt. It's just not natural to have to move that fast in that position!!!

I do my best to live with all things but sometimes it's just not possible.

Blessings, Mona

We have loads of chipmunks around here and I would give anything to have the gone!! I do eliminate those that I catch. They can do lots of damage to wiring in housing and vehicles!

I dunno but my neighbours kids are more destructive to my gardens than the chippers are....

Chippers are sooo cute though. I've never seen one here in Florida but I used to see them when we'd vacation in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee.

Thanks for clearing that up for me Margaret. We have lots of gopher mounds on our property & the next property & the next, & the next & well, you get the picture. I see battle in my future. Am trying to get my earth dog into earth dog aka "get the gopher, dog". I see planting euphorbias but can't plant them around the borders of 5 acres.

I'm so enjoying everyone's photos & tales. Shirlee ~~~ the critters seem to think you have a bulls eye painted on your body! And you try so hard not to bother them. One of these days justice will be served.

Your welcome Ann. I have a mole that has been messing up my beds and grass along our back fence, it doesn't eat the plants, but when they push the dirt out of their tunnels it make quite an unsightly mess. I may have to set a trap for that one.

Ann, I do enjoy them from a distance, of course. Sometimes they can be so funny.
Guess they are just being the wild things they are.

I miss seeing chipmunks here in Florida. Grew up in yankee land and loved them

I can't stand them!!.. we are overloaded here with them.. plant seedlings I grew and they dig them up feeling new soil under foot.. dig up stuff.. eat stuff.. sometimes try and hide stash in my containers.. and dig my seedlings out in the process .... just a royal pain

Nice picture of a cute little chipmunk though.

OK I agree they are cute BUT, I dont want them at my house
Well the one family we have likes to empty my bird feeders and run to my neighbors
house and stuff all MY sunflowers in holes he made under Her house
Then they forget WHERE the put them

I have enought to deal with The voles are driving me nuts

Ours was out and about last week enjoying the warm weather.....

I was messing around in the daylily folloage this morning and out jumped a chipmunk. I sure was surprised as I don't have any living here in the garden.

Rita you do now I havent seen any yet this year but holy moly do I have a bumper crop of babie bunnies

I had a chipmunk move into the garden a few years ago but I found him dead a few weeks later. Haven't seen any since.

Lucky you !!! since I posted last I have seen 3-4 babie chippies !! not a good sign

I haven't seen the one I saw the other day again. But that doesn't mean he is not here.

there very good at hiding then scaring the bajeepers out of you when your weeding LOL

( red squirrel /Smokey Mountains)

I know this photo has been posted before but I just can't help myself
If you feed the chipmunks chilly-dogs maybe they will leave your garden alone.


I think they are cut little critters and don't think I would mind having them around , but my cats find them tasty and they are smart enough not to come near the house. I sometimes here them in the back woods , I guess only the very wild survive here.