Looks like chipmunks or gophers here in the New England area. Are those common in your neck of the woods?

 

Could be skunks digging for bugs too.

 

I have the same thing happening in a section of my yard here in CT. I'm thinking it could be moles.

 

I have the same thing happening in a section of my yard here in CT. I'm thinking it could be moles.

I have mole traps to catch them in the tunnels. I've had a few every year I catch but have never had any suspicion to believe that they are surfacing and digging above ground. They could perhaps though.

 

Could be skunks digging for bugs too.

Definitely contemplated that. I've seen a family of raccoons and their little ones on my doorbell camera so I know they are around.

 

Looks like chipmunks or gophers here in the New England area. Are those common in your neck of the woods?

Yes to an extent but I believe this is only happening at night so I'm doubting chipmunks or squirrels are of issue. Never seen any gophers here.

 

Check the lawn for grubs. The raccoons might be digging them out.

 

Check the lawn for grubs. The raccoons might be digging them out.

I just for the first time seen them. 4-5 raccoons tonight. I'll check for grubs, do you think eliminating the grubs will make them move on? I ought to just shoot them.

 

Check the lawn for grubs. The raccoons might be digging them out.

I just for the first time seen them. 4-5 raccoons tonight. I'll check for grubs, do you think eliminating the grubs will make them move on? I ought to just shoot them.

Shooting the grubs will be hard. They are very small and hide in the turf. If you have grubs, a 24hr grub killing product would be best.

If you take the food source of the raccoons, they should move on. Check your local laws/game warden/conservation officer around what you can do with the raccoons if they are not attacking you.

 

Check the lawn for grubs. The raccoons might be digging them out.

I just for the first time seen them. 4-5 raccoons tonight. I'll check for grubs, do you think eliminating the grubs will make them move on? I ought to just shoot them.

Looks like raccoons to me. Could be skunk as well, but the bunches of holes every night make me think a handful of *****.

On top of eliminating grubs - if you have dogs, you need to do that you can to get the raccoons to find a new route to take - they carry diseases in their poop, not to mention the damage should the dog and **** get into a tangle. I had a family that had learned to use the back of my shed as a latrine, and to use my (fenced) yard as a pass-through on their regular route - they learned this before I bought the house. In the end I had to trap and eliminate that whole family, because no matter what I did my dog would almost get into it with them every single morning (I'm up SUPER early) because they were hanging out in my yard.

I don't have problems now, though there is a new family around.

 

Check the lawn for grubs. The raccoons might be digging them out.

I just for the first time seen them. 4-5 raccoons tonight. I'll check for grubs, do you think eliminating the grubs will make them move on? I ought to just shoot them.

Shooting the grubs will be hard. They are very small and hide in the turf. If you have grubs, a 24hr grub killing product would be best.

If you take the food source of the raccoons, they should move on. Check your local laws/game warden/conservation officer around what you can do with the raccoons if they are not attacking you.

I will look into it I appreciate the advise. I was referring to the raccoons when I said I should just shoot them 😆.

 

That looks like rabbits to me and if so there would be holes that would go in sideways which they would use this time of year to give birth.

Raccoons tend to flip the turf over leaving your lawn looking like a bad golfer just kept swinging.

Skunks tend to dig more with their noses so the holes would be much smaller and more straight down.

Take a guess how I learned all this.

 

Did you treat for grubs? I had something digging this yr also but I treated before, so maybe smelling dead ones?? 3 yrs ago we had foxes dig up a lot of people's yards in my neighborhood. I never did see what di this yr. I'm assuming fox or skunk. They finally stored a few was ago. No big issues.

 

If in season in your state try some dog proof **** traps from an online seller. Bait with mini marshmallows. You will have to 'dispatch' them once caught.

 

My guess is a vole. Your first picture is my best clue.

My first encounter with one was a few years ago. It "burrowed" a trench along the dirt surface, but under the canopy of the grass (I cut mine long). The first thing I noticed was browning paths going through my healthy grass....they would lead randomly to my edging where I have bushes that offer cover. I had several paths from this animal leading out of my edged-in area where the bushes are. The first one I caught with a small live trap cage thing (I think I used peanut butter as bait) and relocated him in a field very far away. I caught a squirrel one night too...he was pretty mad at me. My next experience with one, he would not take the bait. So reluctantly, because I didn't want the poison affecting the food chain, I poisoned under the bushes where I found a hole I guessed he was living. Long story short, I came home from work one day for a different reason and decided to check on the burrows and poison. As luck would have it...they very vole himself was in one of the burrows and I could see him! He was not healthy and not doing well. I captured him and put him in the trap and put him in a place to die where to predator/scavenger could get to him. After work he was dead and I took care of him.

 

Either skunks or voles. If you have grubs, then skunks will dig and rip out the grass to get to them.

Voles leave "trails" in the grass as they make tunnels just below the surface. You will clearly see the dead grass and feel the raised turf over vole tunnels.

 

Raccoons tend to flip the turf over leaving your lawn looking like a bad golfer just kept swinging.

I was literally laughing out loud when I read this. It gave me a visual for about half the golfers I see (since my house sits off in the rough and pretty much at the distance everybody can drive to off of the tee). A good number of these guys might be better described as "excavators" rather than "golfers"😊