For the second year we've been having something go through the beds and turn over the mulch and put little 1 to 2 inch deep holes all over the beds. Last year it was just in the front, but this year it's in my back garden bed too. Plus in the back garden bed, I have a giant 8" deep (down and back) hole. It stops so nothing is living in there though. It's over a sprinkler pipe, so maybe he gave up?
Here's a picture of the hole.
Here's a picture of the rooting. It has covered at least 1000 square feet of bed. No damage just shallow holes (hopefullly he's eating all the grubs).
The culprit is probably an armadillo. It's hunting for food — grubs, worms, larvae of all sorts. It probably finds it easier to dig in your beds. Sometimes my yard looks like it's been strafed by machine gun fire.
We kept having lots of holes in the back garden beds and even having large pots overturned and dug into.
One of our neighbors who works second shift came and told us that he had seen raccoons going over the fence into our yard.
He said you can borrow a trap cage from the animal shelter, so I went there and found out that they had a five week waiting list, so I checked into renting one, it was $15 plus $1 for each day we kept it with a $50 dollar refundable deposit.
It was $50 to purchase one, so we decided to buy one, and it was well worth it.
We trapped three raccoons three opossums and two squirrels and released them all in the woods.
So it was all very much worth it, and we have the cage if we need it again.
They were all beautiful healthy animals and we hated to disrupt their families but it had to be done.
Here is one of the culprits, he is so cute!!!
I was thinking opossum was possible until seeing the giant hole. Does anyone know if opossums can dig holes 9 inches wide and deep?
Good Morning!
I rarely post, but do enjoy reading all the helpful discussions.
Armadillos, Squirrels, Opossums and Raccoons all dig small holes all over my yard while foraging for grubs.
We have found that foxes will dig larger holes.
Also if you have badgers in your area, they could be responsible, as they dig large holes and then potty in them, to mark their territory. These holes are always left open.
I love the foxes and welcome them, however I am hopeful that a badger doesn't move in as they are very stubborn critters, and can be destructive while searching for grubs, as they are powerful diggers.
Wow, I thought Badgers were found only out west, but it looks like they are found here too. A fox would be neat to see. We are in the middle of a subdivision of a 100,000 population city, but my lot backs to a very small creek (dry in the summer) and we are half a mile away from a large creek and buffered forest around it. The back fence is open iron. I have never seen raccoons or opossums around surprisingly, just plenty of bunnies and squirrels. Our neighbor does swear she had a "cougar" howling on her diving board last year. I think it was probably a bobcat, because before the subdivision was fully built out and the subdivision west of us was built, bobcats and coyotes were seen in the neighborhood.
Last fall something dug back in this same area and mostly just created a small mound. It's between a wooden fence and a rectangular pot that sits about 6 inches from the fence. Whatever it is, the hole is much bigger this time.
I have those "machine gun" holes in my flowerbeds and suspect it's a possum. I suspect them because there are no skunks or armadillos in the concrete jungle I call my neighborhood, but I occasionally see possums in my yard during the night.
I would guess the big hole was made by an armadillo. If you have access to used cat litter, fill the holes in with that. I have heard that Dillos don't like used cat litter.
Carla
This message was edited May 12, 2009 1:52 PM
frostweed--that is not cute!!!! LOL
Trap & Shoot! :)
I reduced the opposum and raccoon population in my little pasture by about 12 two summers ago.
Little buggers don't mess with me now. :)
While I realize it's not kind, damage and poisonous waste in my hay and horse feed would've been worse.
No cats for cat litter. Hopefully there aren't any more holes soon. No damage yet, but if it comes to that, I will set up a trap. Just annoying to have my nice pretty mulch turned all lumpy. I have seen road kill armadillos half a mile away on the road trying to cross near the larger creek so I know they come through the area.
I forgot to say that the raccoons would dig big holes looking for worms under the mulch, and then they would wash the worms in the bird's water dishes and the water in the dishes would be pure mud in the mornings, form them washing the worms, smart creatures they are.
One of those we caught did figure out how to open the cage and escaped.
Ha. That's funny. They are way to smart for their own good.
Yes, they sure are cute, here is one of them, when we let this guy out he looked at us as if wondering is we were really letting him go.
Our "cute" raccoon got on the roof, took off the wire around the turbine, took apart the turbine, and proceeded to have a merry old time in the attic. At first we thought it was squirrels ON the roof, then we heard something in the wall between the kitchen and the garage. Borrowed a trap from our builder/client, food in the trap was gone, but no critter. Borrowed a bigger trap, and ended up with a raccoon. Took it several miles away and released it. Still heard noises in the wall, and had to cut a hole in the garage wall, where we found 3 baby raccoons that weren't big enough to climb out.
When our builder went up into the attic they had torn up insulation, and used the entire attic as an outhouse. Luckily, since a raccoon isn't considered a rodent, our homeowner's insurance actually covered the repairs. I think the policies written now exclude damage from raccoons.
It is true, wild animals can cause a lot of damage, I guess we have been lucky that they didn't get into more mischief.
