The wet winter snow that’s finally finished melting away made local lawns prime ground for digging pests – including grubs, voles and ground-nesting digging bees.

“What we’re finding is a lot of insects made it through the winter in just fine shape,” said Jim Dill, pest management specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. “We had so much snow, the ground didn’t freeze solid. So a lot of these digging pests just moved right in.”

Dill said reports of lawn-eating grubs are increasing, as are complaints of voles. They are usually companions, as the voles go where the grubs are to eat them.

But Dill said he’s fielded more questions than ever from property owners finding their lawns home to ground nesting bees, commonly called “solitary bees.”

“They like soft, sandy loam,” he said. “Anywhere that has a bank of uncovered dirt, they move right in.”

But Dill said those bees are not a threat and are actually beneficial. The smaller versions, about the size of a honey bee but darker in color, help pollinate plants while collecting pollen and nectar from flowers. Larger solitary bees eat other insects.

Both varieties are usually nonaggressive and don’t usually sting.

“They won’t sting unless they land on your arm and you hit them,” he said. “You can walk right over their nests and they don’t seem to care.”

Solitary bees don’t live in hives. Individuals dig their own nests in banks of dirt, leaving small piles that look similar to ant hills.

To get rid of solitary bees, Dill recommended digging up their nests with a rake or a rototiller.

“There’s no need to spray them,” he said. “They’re not mean, and they’re not a nuisance. But if you don’t want them around, just dig them up and they usually take the hint.”