Something keeps digging up your yard, here's how to figure out what it is

You step outside one morning with your coffee, and your lawn looks like it had an unsupervised digging contest overnight. Holes everywhere, displaced dirt piles, a flower bed that was looking fine at dusk, now totally torn up, and there were no witnesses.

Before you spiral to a full-fledged backyard detective, take a breath and take notes. Identifying what is digging up your yard is more science than guesswork, and if you know what to look for, the clues are usually right there.

Start with your zip code, not a trap
The first and most important step sounds almost too obvious: find out what animals actually live in your area. What’s tearing up a lawn in suburban Atlanta is probably not the same culprit that’s wreaking havoc in Oregon. Your local university cooperative extension service is actually a pretty good source of information here, tracking regional wildlife activity and directing you to the most common offenders in your area.


According to a study published in Landscape and Urban Planning, suburban yards harbor a surprisingly high diversity of wild mammal species, often comparable to natural settings, with species composition differing significantly by geographic region and local land use. Knowing what’s out there in your corner of the country cuts down the suspect list considerably before you even start looking at the damage.

Read the hole as a crime scene
Once you have a sense of the local wildlife, the hole does a lot of the talking itself. The most useful hint is the size. Coin-sized hole near a brush pile or stump? Old school chipmunk. A 10- to 12-inch gaping entrance that tunnels several feet underground? That is most likely a groundhog. They tend to homestead under sheds or along the wooded edges of a property.

Shallow, scattered holes all over the lawn are a hallmark of armadillos or skunks digging for grubs and earthworms. Dozens of them, as if someone poked around with a stick. If you see raised ridges running in long, meandering lines across your grass, that's mole activity. They tunnel just beneath the surface, and the displaced dirt rises, creating those distinctive ridges and occasional volcano-shaped mounds.

Raccoons make a different kind of mess, almost methodical. They'll lift patches of sod like they're lifting a rug, looking for grubs beneath. If the lawn looks like it’s been folded over and not dug up, the culprit is likely a raccoon.

Timing tells you more than you'd think
Knowing what it looks like is almost as useful as when the damage shows itself. According to a study published in the journal eLife that tracked eight common urban mammal species across ten US metro areas, many suburban mammals, such as raccoons and striped skunks, adapt to more nocturnal behavior in areas of high human density and actively adjust their schedules to avoid contact with people. If the damage appears overnight, it is a strong indication that this type of avoidance behavior is at work.

Spring digging near the foundation of a deck or shed is often something else entirely: a female animal making a den for her young. Depending on your state, that also has legal implications regarding removal. That changes your approach significantly.

Don’t overlook the obvious
Before you install a trail camera or call a wildlife removal service, check for the most obvious culprit: a neighbor's dog, or your own pet. It's a more common culprit than most people know, and one worth checking out first.

Trail cameras are useful but not always reliable for small, fast-moving animals like voles or chipmunks, which might pass through too quickly or too close to the ground to consistently trigger a motion sensor.

When to call a pro
If you have ongoing damage and can’t determine the cause, or if something is nesting under your porch or foundation, consider contacting a nuisance wildlife specialist. Most state wildlife agencies can refer you to a licensed removal professional. Some damage, like a groundhog burrow near a home’s foundation, can become a structural problem if ignored and really needs professional attention.

The good news is that most digging animals in yards aren't dangerous or aggressive, and most aren't permanent residents. They're just hungry opportunists. Find out which one you have, and the solution usually follows.