Why Your Lawn Looks Torn Overnight, And It Might Not Be a Disease

The feeling of confusion is common for a lawn torn up in the morning, despite no visible signs of trouble in it the previous night. However, scientific findings by several universities' extension services in the United States suggest that such damage rarely results from plant diseases or poor turf management but instead is likely to be the work of animals.

What the damage pattern usually means

The presence of holes, loose clumps of grass, or sections that come off like a rug indicates that there is a distinctive significance about the pattern in relation to digging as opposed to decay, and according to guidance issued by Purdue University concerning turf, such damages are mainly caused by skunks digging for food below the ground.


It has been stated by scholars that skunks are known to be incapable of eating grass and only dig holes in order to consume white grubs, worms, and other organisms living in the soil.

This particular guidance issued by the Purdue turf program indicates that such torn-up areas occur due to foraging activities and nothing else.

Why can it happen so quickly?

One of the reasons why such a situation looks so alarming is that it can happen very quickly, as the lawn may appear quite healthy in the evening and suffer damage by the morning, but the extension services of the University of Illinois have pointed out that an individual skunk can make several small holes overnight while feeding itself.

Such quick changes are rather usual and relate to the fact that animals will react to the availability of food, as even some relatively modest amount of grubs can cause quick digging activity. As Iowa State University has mentioned, lawns will not be required to have a large number of grubs, because any number will cause the digging activity.

The role of grubs under the surface

What is more, one of the clues that indicate problems might not be the grass, but its underlying soil, since according to recommendations from extension specialists at the University of Minnesota, there are usually white grubs under the damaged grass. This information can prove that the lawn serves as an area where insects gather in order to eat.

In addition, the specialists say that the presence of grubs causes the feeling of looseness of the soil, which means that the grass rolls up easily. Thus, this information can serve as another clue showing the damage caused by the presence of insects.

This point is significant in this case due to the fact that it reveals the reason behind the choice of this particular area and the form of the destruction.

Why mushrooms can confuse the situation

Lawn owners might observe the appearance of mushrooms along with their lawn problems; however, research done at Clemson University reveals that the lawn mushrooms are not really dangerous to the lawns and appear in times of wetness, where the soil favors the growth of fungi.

According to lawn experts, mushrooms are basically the reproductive part of the fungi, which grow in the soil and consume organic matter such as dead roots or thatch, and they do not tear or dig into the lawn.

University of Maryland and Colorado State University both stress the fact that mushrooms are just part of the natural cycle of the soil, and their appearance does not necessarily indicate animal interference.

Why mushroom rings are not the cause

The formation of mushrooms into ring-like patterns or fairy rings may seem very odd and unique, but according to the University of Minnesota, such rings occur due to fungal spread on the soil surface, and not due to any action performed by the animals.

Therefore, when both mushrooms and damage to the lawn occur together in the same place, then both these actions happen separately from each other simultaneously.

What the lawn is really telling you

The extension agents always mention that such lawn damage should be considered as an indication of what is going on under the ground level, and not the grass’s problem, since the tearing seen is just the effect of animals trying to look for their food underneath the ground.

According to Iowa State University, skunks and raccoons might create such damage, meaning that the pattern indicates feeding more than a specific animal type.

The takeaway

A lawn that appears to have been torn up overnight can usually be much more easily explained if the evidence is interpreted in an accurate way, as the presence of shallow holes, loose sod, and evidence of digging indicates that some animal has been digging through the soil in search of grubs, while any presence of mushrooms simply indicates water activity.

As many different university extension services explain, the important thing is to look at the presence of insect activity under the soil in addition to the actual process of digging, which makes the difference between damage and a scientific explanation of the nocturnal activity.