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hill digging insect? #243258

Asked May 11, 2015, 8:08 AM EDT

I was walking the dog in a neighborhood behind my house and noticed that some lawn edges had these little mounds of dirt everywhere. At first I thought they were ant hills but upon closer examination I didn't see a single ant anywhere. I took a picture of one with my cell phone to show to you. There seemed to be a few hundred in the area. As I walked along I saw them in some lawns and not others. It didn't seem to matter if they had been treated or not. As I looked closely at this image when I got it home, I notice what could be an insect or some sort on the left side. It appears to have legs. Anyway can you tell me what does this? Is there anything that can be done to alleviate the issue?

Montgomery County Maryland

Expert Response

This looks like an ant hill or a mining bee hole. Use a hoe or something with a long handle and poke at the hole. If it is an ant hill, the ants will come running out.
http://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_docs/programs/hgic/HGIC_Pubs/HG7_Ants.pdf
http://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_images/programs/hgic/Publications/HG104_Mining_Bees_an...   vw

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