Do You Have Animals Digging up your Lawn?

Posted on: Mar 17, 2022Raunie

If you are one of the unlucky homeowners that woke up to find animals were digging up your lawn this spring you are not alone. Every spring thousands of homeowners face this exact same problem. Raccoon’s, skunks, birds and other animals will dig into your lawn if they know you have grubs and unfortunately they do not have any table manners so your lawn will be left looking like this:

Do I Need Grub Control?

If animals are digging up your lawn then you do need to get grub control. HOWEVER, THIS WILL NOT STOP ANIMALS FROM DIGGING! Unfortunately, these animals will eat the grubs whether they are dead or alive. So, trying to control the grubs will not help in this regard. The reason you want to control grubs is because when the grubs begin to feed on the lawn they can kill your entire lawn and you will surely be left with a very expensive repair job after.

How Can I Deter The Animals From Digging?

While you wait for the right season to control grubs, there is still the challenge of stopping the animals from digging in the yard. While there is no guaranteed solution for this, here are some methods you can try:

1. Cayenne Pepper: most animals that dig in your lawn have very sensitive noses so one home remedy is to apply cayenne pepper to the damaged areas. One sniff of this send them running over to your neighbors lawn.
2. Soapy Water: even though animals don’t have good table manners they do have half decent taste buds. Which is why apparently soapy water IS NOT their sauce of choice. Try this simple solution: Mix some dish soap with water. Then apply it to the damaged area. This should offer a short term solution to the animals feeding in your yard.

When Is The Best Time To Treat For Grubs?

In Ontario, the best time to treat for grubs is in Late August-September. This is because of the natural product that is used, called Nematodes, is best applied when the grubs are in their early stages of life and they don’t have such a hard skin. The grubs you see in the spring time are adults that are looking to breed. The effectiveness of the nematodes is significantly reduced if applied in the spring as less of the beneficial organism is absorbed by the pest. With that in mind, once the hot summer temperatures start to ease off, the eggs that the adult grubs left will start to hatch and move to the surface. This is the best time to apply as they haven’t had enough time to grow and cause a lot of damage.

Repairing The Damage Left By Grubs And Animals Digging:

The best way to repair the damage is to over-seed the lawn. An aeration would significantly help your lawn. Or you can apply a small amount of top soil to the dug up spots and applying grass seed over top.