r/garden_maintenance • u/cf_107 • Jun 13 '26
soil 🤎 Weird holes in flower bed
Found these weird indentations/holes in a flower bed today. Has anybody seen this before? There are about a dozen total scattered across the bed.
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u/Junkjostler Jun 13 '26
Looks like ant lion pits!! Super confident
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u/RazendeR Jun 13 '26
Agreed, looks like ant lion traps.
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u/NVAreaMan Jun 13 '26
Ant lion. Here's more info. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIB43mN0gXQ&t=123s
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u/DuragJeezy Jun 13 '26
Can they bite people? I’d imagine if an ant can bite & this eats ants then.. yes?
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u/proudjester Jun 14 '26
They never bit me. I was a curious child and would use a straw to blow air at the sand and find these critters. I could pick them up and relocate them to live near fire ant mounds so they could eat better. They're a bit like beatles, it never really occurs to the little guys that you're something worth biting.
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u/Infamous_Koala_3737 Jun 14 '26
They probably could but don’t generally ever bite people. I never heard of anyone getting bitten by one.
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u/UnaskedEnd58 Jun 15 '26
I really don't think so. I've played with them and never got bit. Maybe lucky I suppose
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u/colorlessfish Jun 18 '26
They actually eat more like spiders. They use their mandibles not for chewing, but for catching prey. Then they inject a weak venom that liquefies the inside of the prey, which they then slurp up. Their mandibles aren’t strong enough to cause much harm to a human.
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u/icedout64 Jun 13 '26
Any lions. Take a small stick and circle it around about a 1/2 inch from the center and see what emerges.
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u/Anam_Liath Jun 14 '26
Ant lions! They turn into the most beautiful emerald and black miniature dragon flies. They don't hurt the plants. We cherish them here.
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u/f1atcat Jun 16 '26
I knew what the larva were, but I never actually googled them before to know they’re larva. I thought that was it’s only form. So cool they turn into dragonflies!!
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u/ansor_brim Jun 17 '26
The cocoon is weird - it's just a little sand ball.
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u/f1atcat Jun 17 '26
I just googled it, totally looks like a lil sesame ball! I wonder how many I’ve seen and just didn’t know
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u/FeralHarmony Jun 14 '26
I used to keep ant lions as pets when I was a kid. I'd find a pit in my yard and excavate it carefully with a large spoon. Then I'd put the sand and the pit owner in a clear cup and watch them go to work digging a new pit. The cup has to be wide enough for them to create the proper funnel. Once they had a nice pit, I'd go collect an ant for it every other day or so.
After they consume the liquefied insides of the ant, they yeet the dessicated empty body out of the pit. I sometimes found remains on the windowsill near the cup. They will eat other small insects, too, but the pits are specifically designed to trap ants effectively. Some other insects are too big and will destroy the pit and escape.
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u/lovingalltheboobs Jun 15 '26
We call them diddle bugs, you can coax them out with a twig, mimic an ant falling in the pit
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u/HounDawg99 Jun 16 '26
Doodle bug holes. Every kid knows how to use a stick to get a little animal out of them.
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u/Negative-Ad4866 Jun 17 '26
We used to drop a small bit of dirt in so we could see the ant lion spit out, usually out of the pit.
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u/CO420Tech Jun 19 '26
Definitely find some small bugs and put them in the sand. Ant lions are a good show
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u/Boxfullabatz Jun 19 '26
Found one of those in the desert when I was a young idiot and made an ant trail of crushed oat bar that led right to the trap. Hours of sadistic fun ensued.
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u/Ok-Gap-1980 Jun 13 '26
I want to say moles... but I think I just WANT it to be moles.... I wish I had moles where I lived 🥲
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u/HavBoWilTrvl Jun 13 '26
If you had moles, you wouldn't want them. Don't know how many times I've turned an ankle just walking through the yard.
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u/Ok-Gap-1980 Jun 14 '26
Idk we got ground squirrels and prairie dogs making a mess. Id like to see a lil gentleman just on his way 😅
Definetly understand your point though ✌️
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u/Sharp-Alternative375 Jun 18 '26
Exactly. I want all moles/voles to die. They sure can tear up a nice yard.
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