Month: April 2020

Eastern Mole

While you may never see these critters, you will most likely recognize their work.

Moles dig small tunnels underground that gently push up the grass above ground. Your shoe may sink in to one of these soft spots before you notice they’ve dug tunnels across the entire lawn.

One mole can tunnel an average of 20 yards per day. Each mole measures approximately 6 inches in length, they are a rather small mammal. They have very limited vision and hearing and are equipped with claws great for digging and a heightened sense of smell to guide them underground.

Groundhog or Woodchuck?

Finally got a peak of who has been digging holes in your lawn? It seems the mid sized rodent is a “groundhog” according to your google search, but your husbands search landed him on “woodchuck.” They look identical. Well, which is it?!

Both are correct. This mid sized rodent is a part of the marmot family and has gone by several names such as “groundhog”, “woodchuck”, “whistle pig” and even “land beaver.”

They have gained popularity in North America as we have trusted them with the projection of a long winter or early spring, depending on if they are willing to come out of hibernation: “Groundhog Day.”

There are 15 species of Marmot according to their region of either North America, Europe or Asia. While I can’t say how many other nicknames they have acquired across the world, you would be safe to refer to them as any of the above listed names when calling Westchester Wildlife LLC.