When animals are looking for food, they often dig up lawns and yards, which is not ideal for the person like you that works hard to make their yard look nice.
Many people seem to accept animals digging hole in their yard as normal. Your attractive property though can be ruined because of this digging, so it is important that you stop it as soon as possible.
There are several effective methods that you can use to stop animals from digging up your yard. But for that, you have to do a little research (well, we did) about how to stop this process. Night critters are usually fond of destroying your backyard to find food. Raccoons in particular enjoy digging holes in your yard. So let’s talk about how to stop this annoying problem.
Table of Contents
Why Do Animals Dig?
But before learning how to stop the animals from digging up your backyard and lawn, you also need to know why it is happening.
Animals like raccoons, moles, and skunks usually dig holes in your garden to search for food.
We can find several animals or insects in the yard. However, some animals do not dig holes in the yard just for the food, but also for nesting their babies; they create a nest in your yard by digging small holes.
How To Stop Animals From Digging In Your Yard
Let’s get into the main issue for which you are here. Yes, we are talking about the problem of stopping animals from digging.
Check out the options below to stop digging from happening in your yard.
Remove Problem Animals
The first and easiest method is to remove the problem animals. Whether it’s moles are raccoons digging up your yard, you can safely have them removed.
These are the problem animals that create trouble and will not stop digging holes in your garden. Traps tend to work best for capturing these animals. The trap will only capture them so that you can remove them from your property and save your backyard from further damage and digging up.
You can either trap these animals yourself or hire professional services.
Apply Nematodes
If you are looking for a non-chemical method, then nematodes are the easiest way.
These include no chemicals or any harmful components. Nematodes are microscopic roundworms that you can add to your lawn in the middle of August. You must add these nematodes in summers to ensure they are active and working correctly.
Adding nematodes to your lawn can provide up to two years of protection.
Use Animal Repellent
If you want a chemical method, then animal repellents are a perfect option. These animal repellents are available in a wide range of types and are available from different brands.
You can find them on various marketplaces, including Amazon and other stores. The sole purpose of animal repellent is to ensure that animals stay away from your lawns and backyards. Animal repellents are easy to apply, so your job is done quickly.
Use Physical Barriers
If you don’t know whether you want to use the chemical method or the non-chemical method, you can still use the physical method.
The chemical method can be harmful to the animals and your backyard while physical barriers are much safer. You can install these various kinds of physical barriers all-around your garden to ensure there is no forced entry by any animal.
The physical barriers can be e-fences or any other physical barrier that can stop the animals from entering. The physical barrier or the fence needs to be set in a way that is at least 6 inches deep into the ground. This way, the animals will not be able to attack the fence or easily go under.
Remove Attractions
If none of the above tricks for keeping the animals away are working, you may need to remove all the attractions around your house.
If your yard has rotten fruit or any leftover food, they need to be removed. Fallen fruit and other food sources can be the invitation for the animals to enter your backyard. The smell of rotten fruits and vegetables can invite these animals. And they will end up ruining your backyard. It would be best if you also covered any woodpiles in your backyard.
Pro Tip
Ultra sonic pest repellents are an up and coming product that is worth looking into for your yard!
How To Tell If Animals Are Digging?
Here’s a few signs to look for to tell if animals are digging up your yard:
• If you see mounds and tunnels, it can be done by moles.
• If you see a lot of small holes in your backyard, then it can be because a skunk was in search of food. Skunks usually dig small holes for food, resulting in significant damage and a bigger mess in your backyard.
• If you find an even larger mess, it is because the raccoons have been there. Raccoons are not gentle at all. They dig up a significant chunk of turf to find the food. It is challenging to fix a yard that has been damaged that way. However, one way to recover these flipped turf pieces is to flip them again and water them so that they can recover properly.
Recommendation
If you feel that the pests in your yard are getting out of hand, call a pest control professional as soon as possible.
Conclusion
The damage is always done in the search of food or either for nesting purposes. However, you can still use different methods to make it not happen. If you are using the above methods, then it will work.
People usually are fond of maintaining their backyard and planting fruits and vegetables. When these animals create a mess, it will ruin and damage all the fruits and vegetable plants that have been planted and are growing in the yard.
To ensure that animals aren’t damaging or ruining your backyard, make sure to take serious steps to make it happen. Or else you will always have to suffer from an unattractive backyard that has been dug up by the animals in search of food. And we know, you would not want them to destroy your yard in such a terrible manner. Follow the methods of prevention above to ensure that there is no more damage.