Dogs, Moles, Voles and Raccoons - Oh My!

There are a number of furry intruders that can damage your lawn. Identifying the culprit will help you create a solution to mitigate or reverse the damage. Who knows – maybe you’ve simply pegged a four-legged scapegoat while the real bandit continues without consequence.

Dog Urine

Fido ruining your lawn? One solution is to immediately water down the area though this requires great vigilance. Walk your dog off property or train your dog to keep their business to one area of the yard to reduce the damage.
Always consult a veterinarian before tampering with food or water because these “remedies” can cause kidney and other problems down the road.

Skunks

These smelly beggars may be looking for grubs or insects, but instead of flipping up sod they’ll dig holes. This is actually a pretty cheap way to aerate your lawn. Just kidding! The presence of a skunk doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a grub problem, so do a little detective work on your own to be sure. Kill the insects the skunks are after and eventually they’ll move on to the next property.

Raccoons

These furry bandits can be a real problem in the late spring flipping or rolling-up sod looking for grubs. These guys are smart and determined, so the easiest way to get rid of raccoons is remove their food source. Sprinklers, nettings, urine sprays, and even noise deterrents won’t stop them if they continue to be rewarded by finding food in your yard. We’ll discuss how to get rid of grubs in a later article.
Tap the upturned sod back into place. Let the raccoon have a feast and plan to treat your lawn for grubs in May/June to prevent this happening again.

Squirrels

Some people have no issue with the occasional minor damage caused by squirrels. They are plentiful and rather difficult to deter. Squirrels will munch on conifer cones and emerging tree buds. If you find a collection of branches under a tree in the spring, this little mess could be from a squirrel, but the damage to the tree and property will be minimal.
Squirrels are often the scapegoats of the lawn care damage set. Remember that squirrels do dig holes, but the holes are generally very small. Larger holes are likely better attributed to dogs, racoons or skunks. Squirrels don’t flip or roll-up sod. Squirrels will do their worst right out in the open during the day so if the damage is occurring at night, the culprit is probably a larger animal.

Moles

Lawn moles are super pesky. These little guys can destroy an entire lawn with their tunnels and you might not ever see a nose or foot because they live entirely underground. Cats are natural predators, but if you don’t have a cat there are other solutions.
Moles will eat grubs, but primarily they’re after earthworms so killing all the grubs may not necessarily help. There are poison baits in the shape of earthworms and traps you can use, but do your research because some are more effective than others.

Voles

Voles and moles are often confused with one another because both burrow and create tunnels. Voles will damage grass roots, flower bulbs, and landscaping trees and woody shrubs. Voles are fast reproducers so you could face an infestation in a rather short period of time. Voles prefer cooler soil so are more active in the colder seasons. There are traps on the market to remove these critters if natural predators are in short supply.

Take back your yard this season with a consultation from Nutri-Lawn Burlington! Let our lawn care pros help you get to the root of the problem and ensure your property looks amazing this year!