What's Digging Holes in My Backyard? Recognizing the Culprit

Posted on 2026-01-09 17:56:56

Likely candidates include squirrels, moles, voles, skunks, raccoons, armadillos, groundhogs, chipmunks, pet dogs, and insects like cicada killers. The size, shape, area, and soil disturbance around the holes tell you a lot, as do tracks, droppings, time of day the activity occurs, and what's missing out on from your lawn. With a little observation, you can usually narrow it to one or two species, then pick targeted repairs that really work.

I've walked numerous backyards with homeowners gazing at a polka-dotted lawn and a sinking sensation in the gut. Many holes are not emergency situations, however they can indicate real damage to turf, gardens, and watering. The trick is to diagnose before you treat. A generic method wastes money and frequently makes the issue worse. Below, I'll break down what I look for, case by case, and where I draw the line and call a certified exterminator or wildlife control operator.

Start with the hole, not the animal

You probably will not capture the burglar in the act. The ground is your witness, and it speaks. Get a tape measure. Photograph the hole next to a coin or a glove for scale. Note the time you initially discovered activity and whether it's recurring after rain or mowing.

Hole diameter matters. So does whether there's a mound, a fan of loose soil, claw marks, or smooth edges. Fresh soil has a richer color and holds shape; older holes collapse and gray out. Smell the soil if you can tolerate it. Skunk digs typically bring a faint musk. Raccoon latrines are unmistakable once you have actually seen one, however let's hope you have not.

Quick size guide, with personality

Small holes the size of a penny to a quarter, shallow and spread, point to pests or little rodents. Golf ball size to tangerine size suggests chipmunks, squirrels, or wasps. Baseball to softball size burrows with defined entryways, sometimes with a stack of excavated soil, suggest mammals that live underground or raid lawns at night. Anything larger than a grapefruit, with a clear tunnel and fresh spoil, brings groundhogs or armadillos into play.

Squirrels: neat divots with a habit

Squirrels cache and recover food by making small, shallow divots 2 to 3 inches broad. These holes rarely go deeper than two inches, and they frequently appear near trees or along fence lines where squirrels take a trip. In fall you'll see a burst of activity as they bury acorns and pecans. In spring they dig a few of them up. Soil is typically discarded gently, not piled.

What helps: thinning heavy nut drop, raking regularly, getting rid of fallen fruit, and using hardware cloth to safeguard beds. Repellents can lower activity short-term, but they wash out. Do not waste money on sonic stakes for squirrel holes. If the lawn is pocked but not collapsing, you're taking a look at problem, not structural damage.

Chipmunks: small burrowers with surprise doorways

Chipmunk burrow entrances run around one and a half to 2 inches wide, neat and round, without any excavated mound at the entrance. That lack of a soil pile is a trademark. They bring soil away in cheek pouches and dispose it inconspicuously. You'll find entryways at slab edges, actions, keeping walls, and rock borders. If the hole lives under an air conditioning system pad or concrete stoop, chipmunks are one of the very first suspects.

Typical indications include plant roots chomped off from below and hollow paths under mulch where they commute. I've seen stoops settle when chipmunk burrows honeycomb the soil. Live-trapping with sunflower seed works, but you need to close access later with quarter-inch hardware fabric and fixed mortar joints. If they're undermining structures, speak with wildlife control.

Moles: engineers of the subsurface

Moles do not consume your plants; they eat grubs and earthworms. Their signature is the raised runway. You'll feel spongy ridges underfoot and see volcano-like mounds if they're excavating deep tunnels. The holes themselves https://canvas.instructure.com/eportfolios/4115240/home/are-brown-recluse-spiders-found-in-californias-central-valley are not usually open; you're seeing collapsed portions where the roofing paved the way under a lawn mower wheel or after rain. Lawn appears like someone laid a garden pipe simply under the sod.

Key detail: active mole runs feel firm and springy if you push with a palm, and they get rebuilt within a day after you tamp them down. Inactive runs flatten and remain flat. Control choices include trapping along active runs, minimizing grub populations if your turf has recorded grub pressure, and preventing overwatering, which draws earthworms up and keeps soil damp, conditions moles take pleasure in. Grub control alone does not guarantee mole elimination due to the fact that worms are a primary food. Expert mole trapping works when positioned on straight, regularly used runs.

Voles: plant assassins with pinholes

Voles, often called meadow mice, leave silver-dollar sized openings and, more informing, quarter-inch wide runways pushed through grass and mulch. In winter season, they tunnel under snow and after that expose a damage map when the thaw comes. You'll find girdled shrubs with bark chewed at the base and bulbs hollowed like apples. Unlike moles, voles do consume roots, tubers, and bark.

What helps: snap-traps in peanut butter bait stations placed perpendicular to runways, habitat reduction by pulling mulch back from trunks, and tight hardware fabric collars around young trees. Cats make a damage. Poison baits are available but featured non-target dangers. If voles are heavy and neighbors are also affected, a collaborated effort works much better than a solo campaign.

Skunks: neat cones at night

Skunks penetrate lawns gently however persistently, particularly when grubs are abundant. The holes are cone-shaped, about one to 3 inches large, and shallow, like somebody poked the yard with a finger. Nighttime activity, grub-chasing, and a faint musk provide away. In heavy invasions, a yard can look like it was peppered with a golf tee.

Skunks will likewise den under decks and sheds, where you might see a bigger opening, 4 to 6 inches large, with soft soil at the limit and an obvious odor. If you think a den and it's spring, beware; there may be sets. Exclusion with one-way doors is a timing video game and is best left to pros. Long-term, repair the food source. If a soil sample or grass yank test shows grubs at damaging levels, treat the yard. If you don't have grubs, skunks typically lose interest.

Raccoons: yard roll-up artists

Raccoons are strong, curious, and nocturnal. Where skunks peck, raccoons pry. They roll back turf like a carpet to eat grubs and worms below, leaving flaps of sod or square sections neatly turned. If your grass lifts easily in mats, raccoons or armadillos are prime suspects depending upon region. Tracks in soft soil show hand-like prints with noticeable fingers and nails.

Preventive actions consist of securing trash, removing pet food, and bright motion lights. To dissuade lawn flipping, water less during the night, which reduces earthworms near the surface. Where damage is severe, a wildlife pro can set compliance traps, however you need to integrate capture with access control and food decrease or you develop a revolving door.

Armadillos: diggers with a travel route

In the southern states, armadillos leave quarter to baseball sized conical holes, two to 5 inches deep, while foraging for grubs and pests. They work at night and follow regular paths. Their burrows are larger, often 8 inches across, with crescent-shaped spoil piles and an unique earthy odor. Unlike raccoons, they won't roll grass, they pierce it. If you have a slope with soft soil and a lot of beetle activity, armadillos discover it fast.

They are infamously trap-shy unless you funnel them with boards along their typical paths. Fencing to exclude them need to be buried or turned outside at the base. Control of white grubs decreases interest however does not remove it totally. Inspect regional guidelines before any control; some areas limit methods.

Groundhogs: big holes, huge appetite

A groundhog burrow appears like an eight to twelve inch round hole with a large mound of excavated soil close by, typically with a secondary escape hole without a mound. You'll find gnawed vegetation close to the entryway and well-worn paths. They like clover, beans, lettuce, and flowers. Under decks, sheds, and embankments are prime den spots. I when checked a groundhog den with a smoke bomb the owner had actually tried. The smoke poured out two extra holes twenty feet away. That's normal, which is why half measures fail.

Groundhogs are strong diggers and can weaken pieces. If animals or children utilize the backyard, do not leave an active burrow open. Lethal control and moving have legal restrictions and disease threat. This is where a licensed wildlife operator makes their charge: setting body-grip traps at the den in accordance with state law, then setting up a buried exclusion skirt to avoid re-entry.

Rabbits: small holes are red herrings

Rabbits do not dig large burrows in a lot of lawns. They utilize shallow scrapes in mulch or turf, called kinds, and often nest in depressions lined with fur. What appears like a hole may be a nest cavity covered with thatch. If you find infant bunnies, cover the nest lightly and keep animals away; the mother returns quickly at dawn and sunset. If you see a two to three inch entryway under a low shrub, it may be a chipmunk, not a rabbit.

Wasps and bees: search for traffic, not dirt

Cicada killer wasps produce excellent quarter-sized holes with a fan of loose soil and a pebble or two at the rim, usually in bare, sun-baked ground. They are big, intimidating fliers, but solitary and typically non-aggressive far from active burrows. Yellow jackets, by contrast, utilize existing cavities and you will not see a cool pile or a defined tunnel the way mammals do. What you will see is traffic. If the hole hums with comings and goings during daylight, call a pest control service that deals with stinging insects. Do not pour fuel into holes, ever. It eliminates soil, threats groundwater, and does not reliably reach the nest.

Ants and termites: mounds and pellets

Ants bring soil up in crumbly mounds with numerous small openings. Fire ants construct high, soft mounds without a main crater. Termites do not leave open holes, but you may see pencil-thin mud tubes up foundation walls or sand-like pellets from drywood termite kickout holes in structures, not yards. If you observe consistent, peppery pellets around a wood limit, collect a sample for recognition. Yard ants are normally an annoyance; structural termites are not. When wood is included, generate a licensed pest control operator for an evaluation and a targeted treatment plan.

Dogs and human factors

Sometimes the culprit is a bored canine, a specialist who left test holes, or a neighbor's family pet that visits in the evening. Pet dog holes are generally broader, messier, and located near cool soil under shrubs or where something smells fascinating, such as a buried bone or drip line. Movement electronic cameras solve these secrets quickly.

I've likewise had two lawns where irrigation leaks softened soil so severely that animal traffic seemed to explode. When the leak was repaired and the ground dried, activity dropped. Soft ground welcomes digging since insects and worms are plentiful. Constantly examine irrigation if the damage pattern follows a pipe route.

Reading the context: season, weather condition, and region

In the Midwest, grub feeding peaks late summertime into fall, which is when skunks and raccoons go to work. In northern environments, vole damage appears after snowmelt. In the Southeast and Gulf states, armadillos and fire ants complicate the image. Wet springs bring earthworms to the surface area and moles follow. Dry spell concentrates activity around irrigated yards. If you understand what's in season, you can prepare for and prevent.

How to verify without guesswork

A path camera with night vision, set six to 10 inches above ground and aimed across a thought runway or hole, typically resolves the puzzle in two nights. Fresh flour around the hole entrance records tracks without hurting animals. A plank over a mole kept up a cup inverted underneath can spot an active push. These low-tech tricks lower the threat of dealing with the incorrect species.

If you choose a clean, very little technique before dedicating to gear, do a two-day test: tamp mole ridges at night, then look for brand-new pushes at dawn; rake skunk pecks smooth at sunset, then try to find fresh cones in the early morning; fill chipmunk holes gently with soil to see which resume within 24 hours, then enjoy those entryways from a window.

Prevention that in fact sticks

Most property owners request for a single cure-all. There isn't one. The trustworthy course blends environment modifications with targeted control. Cut at the appropriate height for your grass species so the canopy is dense and roots are strong. Avoid persistent overwatering; deep, periodic irrigation beats everyday sprays. Decrease food for the animals you do not want, which typically suggests managing the animals they consume or removing easy calories like birdseed spills and fallen fruit.

Seal structural spaces bigger than half an inch with hardware fabric or mortar where useful. For decks and sheds, an exemption skirt of galvanized hardware fabric buried 6 inches with a horizontal turn of twelve inches outside stops most burrowers. When you garden, utilize bulb cages for tulips in vole country and choose daffodils where possible given that voles ignore them. If you must utilize repellents, turn active components and don't anticipate miracles throughout heavy pressure.

When to generate a pro

Certain circumstances push beyond DIY. Big denning animals under structures. Aggressive stinging bugs with concealed nests. Repeating mole or armadillo damage over several seasons in spite of efforts. Circumstances near schools or public sidewalks where liability is real. A certified exterminator or wildlife control operator brings species-specific traps, legal clearance, and experience putting them correctly. Inquire about their examination procedure, what they believe the target types is and why, and what they will do to avoid re-entry once the instant issue is fixed. Excellent pros discuss exclusion and habitat, not just removal.

Costs differ commonly by area and species. Mole trapping programs typically run in multi-visit plans. Groundhog removal with exclusion skirts can be a multi-day task. Always ask for a written plan and service warranty terms. If someone assures universal results with a spray that "drives everything away," be skeptical.

Safety notes you need to not skip

Rodent baits can kill family pets and non-target wildlife through primary or secondary poisoning. If you utilize them, utilize locked bait stations, select formulas less most likely to cause secondary kills where appropriate, and follow the label exactly. Fumigants for burrows are restricted-use in numerous states and can be deadly to unintended animals, including pets. Never deploy a fumigant without proper licensing and training.

Gasoline, bleach, ammonia, and mothballs do not belong in the soil. They stop working more than they prosper and infect your backyard. When you're handling skunks, keep in mind the threat of rabies in numerous regions. Prevent cornering any animal, and keep pet dogs leashed at sunset and dawn while you diagnose.

Matching typical patterns to likely culprits

Here's a concise field matching you can go through in your head.

Cone-shaped pecks throughout the lawn after a warm, damp night, plus a faint musk: skunks foraging for grubs. Sod rolled like carpet with square or rough edges, over night: raccoons, possibly armadillos in the South if there are leak holes too. Raised, spongy ridges that come back after you push them down: moles, not voles. Two-inch round holes with no soil pile at piece edges or steps: chipmunks. Eight to twelve inch holes with a big spoil mound near sheds or embankments: groundhogs. Quarter-sized holes in tough, bright soil with a loose fan of dirt, daytime wasp traffic: cicada killers.

Keep in mind that combined indications take place. A lawn can host moles developing tunnels and then skunks exploiting them for a meal. If you see both runs and pecks, deal with both parts of the formula or you'll chase your tail.

Repairing the lawn and beds after the culprit is gone

Once the activity stops, rake loose soil, topdress low areas with screened garden compost or topsoil, and reseed or plug as required. For rolled grass, water, press it back, and pin with biodegradable stakes for a week. For vole runways, rake to rough up the thatch and overseed. For burrow entryways under structures, backfill just after you are certain the den is empty and you have actually installed exclusion. Filling an active den just shifts the exit and might trap animals where you can't reach them.

If grubs belonged to the issue, choose a product that matches your timing. Preventive applications with active components like chlorantraniliprole in late spring target recently hatched larvae. Curative items applied in late summer tackle existing grubs. Do not apply both without a factor; test and validate pressure first.

A reasonable expectation on timelines

Most lawn wildlife problems deal with within 2 to 4 weeks when identified properly and resolved with concentrated actions. Moles might need a few tactical trap checks. Raccoons carry on when the buffet closes. Groundhog elimination and exclusion might take a week, in some cases two if there are multiple den holes. In contrast, vole population reductions can take a season because you're altering environment in addition to numbers.

Give yourself a calendar marker. If you do not see improvement in 7 to ten days after a proper intervention, reassess. Either the types ID is wrong, the food source remains, or access wasn't closed. A brief check-in with a pest control professional at that point typically conserves weeks of frustration.

A short, practical list to identify and act

Measure hole size and depth, note mound existence, and picture for scale. Map where holes occur: open lawn, edges, along pieces, near beds, or under structures. Check timing: fresh holes at dawn, night camera activity, seasonal patterns. Test the lawn: tamp mole runs, refill small holes gently, see what reopens. Decide on targeted action: trapping, exclusion, or habitat/food adjustment, and set a one to two week review.

Final thoughts from the field

The ground tells the story if you decrease and read it. Most homeowners begin with an item and end with a guess. Flip that. Make a clean identification, then utilize the lightest efficient touch. When the damage indicate a denning animal or stinging bugs near traffic, bring in a professional with the right tools. If you keep your lawn healthy, get rid of simple calories, and close structural gaps, you'll invest far less time going after critters and more time enjoying the space. And if something brand-new starts digging next season, you'll know how to listen to the yard and capture the culprit quickly.

NAP

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