Snow mold and voles are becoming a common problem around Colorado. Landscape Care Consultant, Tony Hahn, spoke with 9NEWS on what people can do to protect their lawns from snow mold and voles.
Snow Mold:
Snow mold is a fungal disease that usually appears in early spring after a particularly snowy winter. Snow mold occurs when snow falls on unfrozen turf grass and remains on the grass for an extended period of time.
The first symptom of snow mold you will notice is straw colored patches in your lawn 3 to 12 inches in diameter.
One of the most important things you can do to prevent snow mold from occurring in your lawn is to rake your lawn as soon as the snow finally melts. Doing so will break up the matted down patches of grass, which allow the grass to breathe and discourage fungal development.
Although snow mold is likely to go away on its own, there is a chance that patches of your lawn could die and seeding or sodding would be necessary. If necessary, contact a Denver lawn care company for an evaluation of your lawn.
Voles:
Voles, also known as meadow mice or field mice, are small brown to gray pudgy mammals which are active year round and do not hibernate. Voles dig underground burrows and feed on vegetation, damaging your landscape including trees, turf, bushes and shrubs. Voles cause damage by gnawing through tree bark and eating other vegetation, including Junipers.
They tend to prefer the bark of young trees, but will attack any tree depending on food sources available. Voles tend to look for food closer to their dens and will continue to dig burrows even through the snow.
Methods to help prevent vole damage include habitat management, repellents, trapping and grain baits. More information about Voles can be found through Colorado State University Extension and a Swingle certified arborist can help determine if you have vole damage.
