Hole in Landscape – Not Made by Snake

Q: I’m stumped by what made this hole. It is near some recently planted evergreens. When we planted the evergreens, we dug up a few snake eggs. Thinking this hole is from snakes.

A: The hole couldn’t be made by snakes because they have no bodily mechanism to dig a hole. More than likely this is where an underground tree root decomposed and the soil eventually fell on top of the void.

I suppose it is possible for a snake to hide in a hole like this but not likely….they prefer aboveground haunts except in winter. But even then, they like to be under dead logs or debris piles, not in the ground.

Another possibility is chipmunks but I’d expect to find their hole hidden and not so easy to see.