Why Birds, Skunks, and Raccoons Are Digging up Your Lawn and How to Stop Them

Quick answer: When birds, skunks, or raccoons start digging up your lawn, they're almost always hunting for food, and that food is usually white grubs (beetle larvae) feeding just under the turf. Iowa State University Extension notes that as few as five grubs per square foot can attract skunks and raccoons. Skunks leave small, cone-shaped holes; raccoons peel the sod back like a carpet; birds leave lots of shallow pecks. To stop the digging, confirm you have grubs, remove easy food sources, use exclusion netting in the short term, and apply grub control at the right time of year so there's nothing left worth digging for.

You go to bed with a good-looking lawn and wake up to something that looks like it lost a fight with a rototiller. Chunks of sod flipped over, little holes everywhere, and not a culprit in sight.   

I've been there, and my first instinct was to get rid of the animal. But the animal isn't really the problem. It's the messenger. Something under your grass is serving dinner, and until you deal with that, you'll keep finding the dishes in the morning.

Why Are Animals Digging Up My Lawn?

Nearly all lawn damage from animals comes down to one thing: food. Skunks, raccoons, many birds, and armadillos in the South are all after the same buffet of soil insects and earthworms. The main course is usually white grubs.

White grubs are the C-shaped larvae of beetles like Japanese beetles, May/June beetles, and European chafers. They live in the top few inches of soil and feed on grass roots. To a hungry raccoon, a grubby lawn is basically an all-you-can-eat buffet with no cover charge. (If you want to meet the different species, here's our guide to the grubs that cause your lawn damage.)

This kind of digging is most likely in late summer and fall, when grubs are feeding closest to the surface. Skunks and raccoons are both nocturnal, which is why the damage seems to appear overnight. And here's the frustrating twist: the animals foraging for grubs can do more damage than the grubs themselves.

What Animal Is Digging Up My Lawn?

Before you do anything, figure out who you're dealing with. Each animal leaves a different calling card.

Sources: University of Maryland Extension, Iowa State University Extension, Oklahoma State University Extension.

Skunks Digging Up the Lawn

Skunks dig by pushing their noses into the turf and scratching with their front paws. The result is cone-shaped holes about three inches wide and deep, often clustered together and revisited night after night until the food runs out. And if you catch an unmistakable whiff on your morning walk, that's a pretty strong clue too.

Raccoons Digging Up the Lawn

Raccoons use their front paws more like hands. Instead of poking holes, they grab the turf and peel it back. Iowa State describes damage that can look neatly rolled back, almost as if someone was planning to move the sod. Grubs weaken the roots so the sod lifts easily, which is exactly why raccoons love a grubby lawn.

Birds Digging Up the Lawn

Birds digging up a lawn usually look like lots of small, shallow holes and shredded grass, and unlike the night shift, you can actually watch them do it. Crows, starlings, grackles, northern flickers, blue jays, and even wild turkeys are among the usual suspects. They tend to go after grubs in autumn and caterpillars like sod webworms and armyworms in summer.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest and crows are tearing up your yard, the invasive European chafer is a likely reason. Crows, skunks, and raccoons all feed on chafer grubs and can cause extensive damage in the process.

Golf Course Lawn Tip: Brown patches and digging animals don't automatically mean grubs. Drought stress can look a lot like grub damage. If you're not sure which one you're looking at, our guide to grub damage vs. drought stress walks you through the differences.

How to Check Your Lawn for Grubs

Don't buy anything until you've done this. It takes 10 minutes and a shovel.

1. Pick a spot at the edge of the damage, where the grass is still green but next to the dug-up area.

2. Cut three sides of a 1-foot square, about 3 to 4 inches deep, and fold the sod back like a page in a book.

3. Count the grubs in the soil and on the roots.

4. Repeat in at least three spots around the lawn, as grub numbers can vary a lot across a yard.

5. Fold the sod back down, press it firmly, and water it.

Here's how to read the results:

Notice the gap? Your lawn can tolerate more grubs than the local wildlife will, which is why a lawn with no visible grub damage can still get dug up every night. If your count comes back low, the animals may be after earthworms instead. That's actually a sign of healthy soil, so don't reach for a "worm and grub killer." You want to keep the earthworms and deal with the animals directly.

How to Stop Animals Digging Up Your Lawn

The fix has two parts: make the lawn hard to dig right now, and take away the food, so they stop coming back.

How to Stop Raccoons Digging Up Your Lawn

• Remove easy food. Bring pet food in at night, secure trash cans, and take down bird feeders for a while. These are the first steps for both raccoons and skunks.

• Cover the problem area. Raccoons climb fences, so you need to cover the ground itself. Lay hardware cloth, chicken wire, or bird netting over the damaged area and pin it down with landscape staples or bricks. A determined raccoon can still lift it, but it makes digging hard enough that most will give up and move on.

• Put flipped sod back fast. If the roots haven't dried out, press the pieces back down and water them. The sooner you do this, the better the odds they reroot.

• Don't try to trap and relocate. Raccoons can carry rabies, and in some states it's illegal to relocate them. If you've got a persistent problem, call a licensed wildlife control operator.

Golf Course Lawn Tip: Wear gloves when handling sod that raccoons have dug up. The CDC warns that raccoon droppings can carry roundworm eggs invisible to the naked eye, so if you find droppings on your deck or woodpile, follow the CDC's cleanup guidance.

How to Stop Skunks from Digging Up Your Lawn

• Fence them out. Skunks don't jump or climb, so a sturdy chicken wire or woven wire barrier, pinned tight to the ground, can keep them off a garden bed or small lawn area.

• Close up the hotel. Skunks love to den under decks, porches, and sheds. Block those openings, but only once you're sure nobody's home. Trust me, you don't want to be the one who lets a trapped skunk out.

• Remove food sources. Same as raccoons: pet food, open trash, fallen fruit, and birdseed on the ground.

• Deal with the grubs. Skunks will keep coming back nightly until the food runs out. Take the grubs away, and they lose interest.

How to Stop Birds Digging Up Your Lawn

Birds are a different story, because most are protected. Crows, robins, flickers, and most other native birds fall under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so trapping or harming them isn't an option. (European starlings, house sparrows, and rock pigeons are the main exceptions, per the Federal Register's list.) University of Maryland Extension's advice is simple: no bird control is needed.

The real way to stop birds digging up your lawn is to take the grubs and caterpillars away. In the meantime, bird netting over newly seeded areas protects them while they fill in.

Do Repellents and Home Remedies Work?

Some help a little. Some don't help at all. Here's the honest answer:

Best Treatment for Grubs in Lawn: Timing Is Everything

This is where most homeowners go wrong. Good lawn grub control comes down to timing, and the best treatment for grubs in a lawn is the one you apply at the right time. Get it wrong, and even the best grub control products won't do much. There are two approaches.

Preventive control goes down before the eggs hatch and stops the next generation of grubs before they ever get big enough to cause trouble. Iowa State says preventive treatments are most effective from late May to early August. If you're using chlorantraniliprole, UMass Extension recommends applying between mid-April and early June.

Curative control targets grubs that are already feeding. It's most effective in August and early September, while grubs are small. Once they're full-sized, curative treatments will seldom provide more than a 50% reduction.

Golf Course Lawn Tip: If animals are digging up your lawn in the fall, resist the urge to throw down insecticide. In most of the country, it's too late to do much good. Put that energy into netting, repair, and a preventive application next spring instead. If you want the full rundown on treatment timing, see our guide to grub control and how to get rid of grubs in your lawn.

The Best Insecticide for Lawns with Digging Animals

When people ask me about the best insecticide for lawns that keep getting dug up, or the best lawn pesticides in general, I point them to a preventive grub-control product that's tough on grubs and easier on everything else living in the soil, earthworms included.

Acelepryn® G: Our Pick for Granular Insecticide for Lawns

Acelepryn® G uses chlorantraniliprole, which the EPA has placed in its reduced-risk pesticide category, according to the Washington State Department of Health. As a granular insecticide for lawns, it goes down with the same broadcast spreader you use for fertilizer. It covers white grubs, armyworms, billbugs, chinch bugs, and other turf caterpillars (handy, since caterpillars are what draw birds in summer), on both cool-season and warm-season grasses. Apply it to a dry lawn in April or May for season-long control, then water it in with about 1/4" of irrigation or rainfall within 48 hours. One 25-lb bag covers up to 21,000 sq ft, depending on the rate.

acelepryn-g-insecticide-grub-and-armyworm-control

Acelepryn® SC: The Liquid Option

Same active ingredient in a liquid concentrate, if you'd rather spray than spread. A 4 oz bottle covers about 22,200 sq ft at the preferred rate. Water it in with 1/4" of water to move it down to the grubs, and add a spray indicator dye so you can see where you've been.

acelepryn-sc-insecticide-liquid-grub-and-army-worm-control

yard-mastery-4-gallon-backpack-sprayer

turf-mark-blue-spray-indicator-dye-1-quart

Caravan® G: Grub Control Plus Disease Protection

If your lawn struggles with brown patch or large patch, as well as grubs, Caravan® G pairs thiamethoxam (an insecticide) with azoxystrobin (a fungicide) in a single granular product. Applied May to July, a single application provides season-long grub control plus about a month of preventive large-patch control. One thing to know: thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid, which can harm bees, so don't apply it over flowering weeds like clover, sweep granules off hard surfaces, and follow the label.

caravan-g-insecticide-and-fungicide

How These Grub Control Products Compare

Want to compare more options? Our roundup of the best insecticides for a healthy lawn covers a wider range, and you can browse everything in the fungicide and insecticide collection.

Golf Course Lawn Tip: Chlorantraniliprole is harmful to aquatic invertebrates. If your lawn runs down to a pond or creek, leave a buffer and don't let granules wash into the water.

How to Repair Lawn Damage from Animals

Here's the good news: animal damage is usually cosmetic. The damage is temporary, and with a little work, your lawn will bounce back.

1. Replace the sod first. Flip overturned pieces back, press them down firmly, and keep them watered until they root back in. Iowa State recommends doing this before anything else.

2. Fill and level the holes. Top up small holes with topsoil and firm them down.

3. Overseed the bare spots. Fall is the best time for repair, so now is a great time to get seed down on cool-season lawns. Match your seed to your existing grass.

4. Feed the recovery. A balanced fertilizer thickens the turf, and thick turf with deep roots tolerates grubs better.

5. Plan your preventive treatment. Mark your calendar for spring so you're ahead of the next generation.

diy-premium-double-dark-green-kentucky-bluegrass-perennial-ryegrass-grass-seed

lebanon-country-club-complete-fertilizer-14-7-14-sgn-80

Golf Course Lawn Tip: Raised ridges and volcano-shaped mounds mean moles, not skunks or raccoons, and grub control generally won't help with those. See our guide to mole control instead.

FAQs

Will killing the grubs stop animals from digging up my lawn?

In most cases, yes, though not overnight. Once the food is gone, skunks, raccoons, and birds lose interest and move on. Animals that are used to feeding in your yard may keep checking for a little while, and some will still dig for earthworms. That's why exclusion netting and grub control work best together.

Why are raccoons digging up my lawn but I can't find any grubs?

Raccoons and skunks also eat earthworms, and they'll eat small rodents too. If your grub count is low, earthworms are the most likely draw. In that case, skip the insecticide and focus on netting, removing food sources, and repairing the turf.

Is it safe to use grub control products if I have kids and pets?

Always read and follow the label, and keep kids and pets off the treated area until the product has been watered in and the grass has dried, unless the label says otherwise. Chlorantraniliprole, the active ingredient in Acelepryn®, is in the EPA's reduced-risk category, but every pesticide needs to be used exactly as directed.

Can I use a worm and grub killer to stop the digging?

You can, but it's usually overkill. Earthworms improve soil structure and drainage, so killing them hurts your lawn in the long run. Target the grubs specifically with a grub control product, and use exclusion for animals digging for worms.

Do birds pecking holes in my lawn mean I have grubs?

Often, but not always. Birds also feed on caterpillars such as sod webworms and armyworms, especially in summer. Do a quick grub check by pulling back a square foot of sod. If there's nothing there, look for caterpillars in the thatch instead.

Dinner Is No Longer Served

Birds, skunks, and raccoons digging up your lawn are telling you something about what's going on under the grass. Figure out who's visiting, check for grubs before you treat, protect the damaged areas with netting, and repair the turf this fall. Then put down a preventive grub control product at the right time next year. Take away the buffet, and your nighttime visitors will look for dinner elsewhere.

Ready to get ahead of next year's grubs? Shop our Fungicide and Insecticide collection, and check out our complete guide to pest control for your lawn.

For more guidance, check out our videos on the Golf Course Lawn YouTube channel or browse the full DIY Lawn Care Blog.