Nashville Raccoons Digging Up Yard
Raccoons can be a nuisance in both urban and rural areas, but can really be a problem when heavy foraging moves them into your yard. Many animals will dig up your yard while foraging, and raccoon damage to your yard is easily identifiable. A well watered lawn is the perfect place for a mother to teach its young, how to dig for grubs.
Damage from these animals is not always seen by a homeowner, as most of the damage occurs at night, as they are nocturnal. Even damage from another animal may be misdiagnosed as raccoons. This page should help homeowners understand what to look out for before damage occurs, and what other animals will cause damage to your yard.
Why Animals Dig Up My Yard?
Wildlife is not picky when it comes to choosing one yard to destroy over another. If the availability of grubs is present in your yard, eventually you will have some sort of damage from wildlife digging at some point. Understand, there are several animals that will dig in yards, and several that will be attracted to grubs. Did You Know, Most homeowners that experience digging from wildlife will also have a mole problem.
Raccoon Damage To Nashville Yard
Raccoon damage to your yard will be due to the availability of grubs or insects present under the top layer of soil. Damages can be from a single raccoon or up to six or more, can create costly lawn problems while they dig for dinner. Their damage is easily identifiable from other animals. The best way to remove problem animals is trapping. It is important to remove the animal that has developed that behavior problem out of the area. If you do not remove the problem raccoon, despite deterrents and anything else you try, it will return. Identifying raccoon damage:
- Raccoons rip chunks of grass and sod with their hands.
- Raccoons will damage areas by pulling and flipping turf back.
- Heavy damage areas indicates several raccoons.
- Nocturnal digging and damage will occur.
Skunk Damage To Yard
- Divots in yard 3″ – 4″ holes digging for grubs.
- Soil Disruption is indicated by what they can fit their nose in.
- Nocturnal digging and damage will occur.
Armadillo Damage To Yard
- Divots in yard 1″ – 3″ holes
- Divots will be 3″ – 5″ wide.
- Will dig under root systems.
- Soil Disruption indicated by what they can fit their nose in.
- Nocturnal damage and digging will occur.
Mole Damage To Yard
- No visible hole dug, only soil pushed up for air vent.
- Most common animal in yards.
- Kills grass roots, causing ridges to brown.
- Daytime Activity.
- Long runways of slightly elevated ground.
Can I Just Use A Grub Killer?
The truth about all of the over-the-counter grub killers at your local home improvement stores is that it will rarely will solve your problem. When you apply a product like this to your lawn, it can make grubs go deeper in your lawn. This can result in wildlife damage being worse as the animals will dig deeper in your yard to get to the grubs. Here are some helpful tips on maintaining your yard.
- Water your lawn in the morning, allowing it to dry out before nocturnal animals come out.
- Kill Grubs in April and May using Beneficial Nematodes ( Environmentally Safe )
- Avoid Chemical Treatments.
- Trap problem animals that are digging, including raccoons, skunks, armadillos, and moles.
- Consult our Animal Pros specialists.