How to Minimize Rodent Damage Near Golf Bunkers

Rodents cause damage everywhere they go. If you manage a golf course, there are a lot of spots where rodents can go to cause that destruction. Here are three ways to keep them away from your bunkers.

Protect your bunkers with sturdy bunker liners

Rodents like to chew their way through obstacles if they can’t easily get around them, and that goes double for burrowing rodents. Their sharp teeth can cut through thin bunker liners. Even if their attempt to get through fails, they can still cause shifts and wrinkles.

So invest in study liners that repel physical damage on both the sand and soil sides.

Keep voles away from people by clearing the ground.

Voles don’t like open ground. But they’ll invade tall grasses, underbrush, and piles of branches or leaves. If you live in a region where it’s impossible to escape voles, it’s still possible to manage them. Clear the ground near popular walkways and the perimeter of every sand trap. Most of your visitors will be sanguine about seeing rabbits in the distance but less happy with voles underfoot.

Shore up bunkers with tight sand and clay soil.

If burrowing rodents are your main problem, then slowly transform the ground to keep them away from your course’s most vulnerable spots. Tunneling animals like loose loamy soil because it’s easy to dig through. So the next time you’re digging up ground for a beautiful landscaping installment or a new sand trap, line the bottom with clay soil. That should deter a lot of the underground damage. Sandwiching your bunker liners between clay soil and tightly packed sand also helps your bunkers hold their shape through the rest of the season.

Go to ZLINE Bunker Systems here to learn more about the bunker liner features that can help protect your course, too.