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Have only had a house with a yard and landscaping since last winter. This is my first fall with everything. We have a burm in our backyard that had majory overgrown and crowded daylilies. Yesterday I finally (long overdue) started pulling all of the dead leaves and stalks out of the ground. As I cleared most of the stuff away, I noticed what looked like little pieces of brown rice sprouting white hair laying scattered throughout the mulch all over the burm. I mean all over it, the stuff was everywhere. At first I thought it could be mouse droppings that had started to grow mold as it has been a very damp fall and they'd been under the huge canopy of the daylilies. But the "hair" on them completely covers all sides uniformly on all of these little pieces and I really don't think that it's mouse droppings, considering there are also none of these in the grass around the burm. I've searched the internet and come up with a few possible things: mealybugs? sclerotia? I really have no idea! If it's something harmful to the plants I need to know. And if it actually is from mice, eek (my toddler was "helping" me and don't mice droppings carry deadly hantavirus?). I've included a picture. Any ideas?
My suggestion is kind of ewwy. Get a pair of rubber gloves, put some on a sheet of paper and squish it with a stick or something to see what is inside. Once you know whether it's a seed or dropping or even a larvae, you'll have an idea of how to proceed.
I could do this. Although I wouldn't know what to look for once it was broken open. I'm guessing droppings would be consistent material all the way through and seeds would have a different looking interior?
I think you'll be able to tell. If not, put some in a sealed plastic bag and take to your local greenhouse or extension office to see if a master gardener can identify it.
