holes in lawn bit of digging too

bobbyss

Not able to upload pictures but I came across some odd holes in the back lawn the last day. I'd say a little smaller than golf holes and some digging also. I put a stick into the holes and they don't seem to go anywhere? What is going on does anyone know?

looksee

Rabbits? Though they tend to dig either big serious holes or just scrape out little hollows. Pics? Rats are a possibility.

cap.in.hand.

Young Rabbits ...seen holes in lawn here too

looksee

We have lots of rabbits, including brazen (or stupid) young ones. I haven't seen any actual holes, only scraped out hollows. The warrens in the boundary ditches have big entrances.

The Continental Op

You'd get small pop holes coming off from those warrens. Very small holes you would expect a rabbit to be able to get out of but put a ferret down and they'll get out of the quick enough. You wouldn't get pop holes on a lawn though.

Jim_Hodge

Sounds just like the scraping rabbits do on our lawn.

bobbyss

I doubt if its rabbits. It's an enclosed garden urban. I've heard of voles? Would that be a possibility? These holes don't seem to go anywhere. Like small golf holes maybe an inch or maybe two. But as i say nothing in them. Dead end.

ORVEE

Could be a fox. We had the same as you mentioned a few years ago. Set up a trail cam, which caught Mr. Fox red handed.

bobbyss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119249697#Comment_119249697

I have also googled and YouTubed that and I suppose that is a distinct possibility.

I just had another look a few minutes ago and these definitely some digging going on, Some gouging away at the grass. But i just do not understand this holes business. Foxes don't make clear cut roundy shaped holes the size of small golfballs?

if it is voles WHERE ARE THEY!!! The holes go nowhere and the gouging of soil goes nowhere either as far as I can se. i have put a stick into the holes and they stop. The digging also. There does not seem to be ANY tunnell or anything like that. It is like a dog like animal was pawing away at the grass but no tunnels.

Trail cam? Where did you get it? How much? Was it useful?

The Continental Op

Voles are tiny they'd get through a hole you'd make with a pencil.

Badger is another that will dig a hole to get at grubs, he's a little less delicate at it than a fox.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119249755#Comment_119249755

Voles wouldn't make hikes in the middle of a lawn.

dr_funkenstein

We had this in our garden and it was grey squirrels looking for food they had buried

standardg60

Has to be a fox OP

looksee

Foxes dig like dogs, with much scattering of soil. They don't make deep little round holes.

RainInSummer

I have the same thing in my back garden. Very much a rural area. Goes down about a foot before the stick I use stops. It's about 18in out from the ditch.

I've filled it in a few times and it appears back. No soil on the grass, just the neat little round hole.

I got a trail cam up on it a few years back but no hits. Could remain filled for a month or two and then it's back so I'm not bothered leaving the cam out for that length.

Lots of fox in the area and lots of hedgehog too. There's no way it's a fox though, they just don't dig like that.

Rat is my best guess.

petronius

I had foxes digging holes, filled them in and they'd dig them again or others - seemed to be after worms etc.

looksee

Could be two things going on. In my (fairly limited) experience the bits of digging could be any of the animals mentioned, rabbits, foxes, etc. The neat round holes are something else and not likely to be rabbits or foxes. Not likely to be badgers, they make large holes with a lot of scraped out soil below them/in one direction. Rabbits tend to scatter the soil in their little scrapes so thinly you can hardly see it, fox digging is bigger and more spread (like the fox that made a - fairly feeble - attempt to dig up a recently buried cat, we covered the grave with large stones and it lost interest.)

fryup

upload pics OP

bobbyss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119251613#Comment_119251613

image0.jpeg

image1.jpeg

image2.jpeg

image3.jpeg

image4.jpeg

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image6.jpeg

They started off very small it seems.

pawrick

Image 2 looks like the damage rooks do to my lawn looking for cockshafer grubs. The other images also look similar to ones I've occasionally seen in my garden and I'd have foxes, hedgehogs and occasionally rats but no squirrels.

standardg60

100% fox

bobbyss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119251957#Comment_119251957

But how could a fox make a perfect small hole with no debris around?

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119251951#Comment_119251951

I was just about to post the same when I saw yours. That's very like Rooks digging for leatherjackets.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119251957#Comment_119251957

And I'd say 100% not Fox.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119251971#Comment_119251971

There's debris around most of them in your pics, the cleaner ones look older. I've seen these holes a hundred times around Dublin.

Keep an eye out early in the morning and you'll probably spot them.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119251975#Comment_119251975

Suit yourself

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119252034#Comment_119252034

I sure will. I've watched Foxes, Rooks, Rabbits etc rooting in the lawn many times. I've never seen a fox leave a hole like that. Maybe your foxes are different - so be it.

fryup

a polite middle class Fox perhaps that doesn't want to leave a mess behind?

do you live in Foxrock OP?

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119253404#Comment_119253404

Yeah there's no mess in image 2 at all

looksee

I would agree there is evidence of a fox digging - but - I think it was digging out a hole that already existed as a small, clean hole, and I still think a rat is the most likely culprit.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119254987#Comment_119254987

So the fox was digging a hole already started by a rat? Give me a break

The lengths some posters will go to to simply save face rather than admit to being wrong is laughable, there's nothing wrong with being wrong. This is an enclosed urban garden, suggestions of rabbits, badgers and voles were wrong to start with, now it must be coming from the air!

Forgive me for thinking that people are more interested in disagreeing with me than actually providing the OP with a genuine answer.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119255199#Comment_119255199

You'll find the answer was given and it's not fox. 😊

looksee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119255199#Comment_119255199

Are you suggesting there are no rats in suburban gardens? 'some posters' is right!

bobbyss

Let's start with what could be causing the golf ball size holes. No mess whatsoever. A clean hole. But it goes nowhere. It is not a tunnel.

My feeling is that it might be a rook or something pecking away. Yet if it was a rook or a bird what explains no clay or dirt on the grass?

bobbyss

Problem solved. Although in the city and an enclosed garden we do have metal side gate with bars. Last night I looked out into the garden and saw hedgehog. I shone a torch at it to make sure and yes a hedgehog. The torch had no effect on it at all by the way. So it makes nice, little perfect holes. Who would have believed.

looksee

Since this thread I discovered a very neat round hole in the gravel drive, just about 2 inches deep and about 4 inches across with a bit of scatter to one side. Filled it in but following day two or three of them. Filled them in again, next day several scattered about. This was during the very dry spell. So I found an old bowl and filled it with water and left it beside the route from the grass to the drive. Result! No more holes. There is a young fox in the garden and I guessed it was looking for water - there are no streams etc near us for about a kilometer min. around us.

standardg60

Happy to admit i was wrong, never considered a hedgehog given a suburban garden, well done Pawrick!

Thanks OP for posting the solution, after earthworms no doubt.

10-10-20

I'm laughing at this thread. I had images of Peter Rabbit during the big long who-dunnit.

The guilty hedgehog is bottom right. 😂

bobbyss

Well I cut the grass for the first time this year recently and I see those holes are back again. And they are slightly bigger. Evidence of soil now around the hole.

I still have no idea of what they are.

I YouTubed to see any possibilities but lots of them are American and talk about possibility of racoons or coyotes and all that. One person said it could be dampness due to rain causing worms wanting to come upwards and birds exploiting this?

Someone said a fox above but again, how could a fox make perfect holes like that? I said last year (above) that I had the solution-a hedgehog but now I am not too sure at all.

Could it be crows, magpies early in the morning pecking away? They are strong and could leave some soil around?

garden1.jpg

cap.in.hand.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864602#Comment_120864602

It doesn't look like a very healthy lawn to start with ...

bobbyss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864929#Comment_120864929

100% correct. But frankly that's the least of my concerns. When I did manage to cut it everything was like straw not a blade of green anywhere. But grass is a survivor so I have no worries.