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Summit County — With the snow melting, the lawns around Routt County are gradually becoming exposed. But as the green grass starts to sprout, there are also countless brown splotches and tunnels snaking their way across the less-than-lush grass.

The brown blemishes can be blamed on three familiar suspects, Routt County Extension Agent CJ Mucklow said. Voles, pocket gophers and ground squirrels all create problems for would-be landscapers, but voles are particularly noticeable this year because vole populations ebb and flow on a cycle of about seven years.

Voles are the smallest of the three common lawn rodents and look like mice with flat noses. They make lines in the dirt but not the bigger dirt-clod lines. The dirt clods that can be 3 inches wide and a foot or two long can be blamed on pocket gophers.

They’re closer to rat size, Mucklow said, and you will rarely see them. Ground squirrels, finally, are out of their burrows by now, are a little larger and can often be seen running around.

The good news, after the snow reveals a track-riddled lawn, is that the damage is already done, Mucklow said, and after a few weeks of care, lawns should return to normal.

If the voles continue to pose a problem, or if homeowners want to reduce their numbers before next winter, Mucklow said there are few reliable options.

“There isn’t a lot you can do. We should protect our really young vegetation, young trees and bulbs if you can using rodent guards,” although most of that should have been done last fall, he said.

Now that it’s spring, vole control is similar to mouse control, but Mucklow said people should be careful using poisons because they can also kill songbirds and neighborhood pets.

“If you want to use a poison, make sure and put it down the hole, do not put it on top of the ground,” Mucklow said. He said anyone who wants to use poison should call him at 870-5244 for specific advice.

There are also a few “conventional wisdom” remedies people suggest.

He said the treatment he thinks might work is capsaicin oil, the stuff that makes chilies spicy. Other than that, Mucklow said there’s the good standby of sticking the garden hose down the hole of yard critters and either trying to drown them or flush them out because they don’t like living in wet areas.

Other than that, he said homeowners would try about anything, though there are no guarantees.

“From chewing gum to caster oil to pepper spray — no research says it will work, and no research says it won’t work,” Mucklow said. “I really have doubts about most of them.”

— To reach Zach Fridell, call 871-4208 or e-mail zfridell@steamboatpilot.com