What is digging up my garden?

[BrianNN5]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to put this post but here goes.

I have a patch of grass (I can't really call it a lawn) that I wish to dig up and re-turf.
However, I don't want to do this at the moment as I am getting frequent visits from something that is digging holes in my grass. This happens overnight, I have added some pictures of the holes from this morning (which are anything from 1-4ins long and 1-3ins deep).

What animal is doing this?

How do I prevent it happening?







Thanks for any help/advise you can give.

Brian

[arpoet]

looks like foxes to me. They dig for grubs and big worms. You can buy some extra smelly stuff to put in the hole before you replace the grass. cant remember the name though. senior moment.

[rustylady]

That looks like what my dog is doing to my "lawn" at the moment

[Scarlet]

Have you got a terrier or a spaniel Rusty? They like a bit of digging.

[Scarlet]

It may be foxes - they don't like the smell of human urine. You could go out late and wee over it! Might work

[rustylady]

Have you got a terrier or a spaniel Rusty? They like a bit of digging.

Staffy x whippet Scarlet. She's normally very good, but every so often she seems to get the urge to dig.

[Nicos]

I'd go with foxes too- although a badger can do that sort of damage to a lawn...and often bigger and deeper- how rural are you?

[Two_Sheds]

to stop the digging: water an area of lawn and cover it with plastic or something. The grubs will rise to the surface. Take the plastic off before you go to bed, and the animal, whatever it is (fox or badger) will be able to eat the grubs (which eat your grass roots) without digging up the lawn.

Or leave out a midnight snack of peanut butter sarnies. You might think it's counterproductive to "encourage" the digger this way, but it will save your lawn. The digger is hungry, he WILL keep digging if he needs food.

[Aberdeenplotter]

crows digging for leather jackets

[PaulH]

Have had the same thing happen to me twice in the last week. Whatever it is seems to be looking for roots/grubs/worms - loads of plants dug up and scattered around.

There is a fairly large hole in my fence panel - 18 x 10 inches.

I occasionally put out a few hen's eggs for magpies who are nesting in a tall tree to discourage them from taking eggs directly from birds nests, and whatever this creature is has been taking them, whole!

I am planning a stake-out, and will let you know. Oh, and by the way, the answer to the question about how do you stop animals digging in your garden is simple: hide all the spades.

[alexhopper]

I think it is done by fox. it look like lil bit digging

[Digger J]

Animal hole with feathers around

I found a hole dug in soft earth about 20cms deep and 20cms diameter. The odd thing was that there were a lot of feathers averaging about 100-150cms strewn around. They were obviously not from a new kill.
I attach a couple of photos
DJ

[Mr Bones]

Welcome to the vine Digger J. Looks like a fox has reclaimed his dinner. You can't usually see any evidence when they bury it but you certainly can when they get it back out.

[More basil]

I'd say it's a badger- the holes are either from digging or latrines. Badger make holes like that for their droppings near their setts and at the boundaries of their territories. I get similar little presents in my garden. Occasionally I meet the culprit at night, a mean bunch of muscles that likes to play chicken for a bit on the footpath before it shuffles off. It is welcome to eat the slugs and snails but I do find it a little tiresome when it uproots all my plants in containers.

[purplekat]

How to identify animal holes | Discover Wildlife