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Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage 1994

Identifying the Animal Species Causing damage to Gardens, Crops and Grass

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This page contains a series of questions that will help guide you in determining the wildlife species that is damaging your lawn or garden.

Is the problem due to:

mounds of dirt/pushed up soil
eating garden
furrows or grooves to soil/grass
holes in the ground/grass?
ground/grass is shredded
Damage to Crops? such as corn, alfalfa, beans, etc.

Dirt/pushed up soil

Is the problem

Mounds: Click Mounds	Dirt Tubes: These are caused by pocket gophers when they create tunnels under the snow. They are often seen after the snow melt.


Mounds	Mounds are typically created by two different animals. Here are some tips to help you identify which animal created the mound on your property.
Mole mounds are circular and tend to be smaller 6-8 inches in diameter. Pocket gopher mounds tend to be kidney or teardrop shaped and will be larger 10-15 inches in diameter.
Side view of mole and pocket gopher mounds.
Small dirt mounds like this one signifies earthworm scat. They can be distinguished from crayfish mounds because there is no chimney like character to the mound. To confirm the mound is from worms, scrape away the mound and look for a 1/4 inch size hole in the ground. This photo is courtesy of Julie Goldman, NY.
Furrows or grooves in the soil	Furrows are areas of grass or soil pushed up from below that follow a line. Grooves are lined depressions in the soil or grass.
Furrows can be long and straight or short and bent. Furrows are caused by Moles.
Voles: Voles will create trails in the grass where they travel. Photo courtesy of Stephen Vantassel
Another example of vole damage to grass. Photo courtesy of Stephen Vantassel.
Ground/Grass is shredded
Does the damage occur during the Night or Day?
Damage occurs at night
Armadillo: Armadillos This photo by Michael Merchant of Texas Extension, shows that armadillo damage can be extensive. However, armadillos are more precise in their digging. Raccoons just shred the sod in their cumbersome hunt for food.
Raccoon: Raccoons will shred or roll the grass in search of grubs and worms. This photo by Christ Percha is an excellent example of how bad a raccoon can tear up a lawn.
Skunks: Skunks are very precise in their digging. They will make individual cone shaped holes precisely at the spot where the grub/insect is. Photo courtesy of Rob Erickson of Wildlife Control Technology Mag.	Click for larger image.
Damage occurs in daylight
Birds--Identifying a specific species causing lawn damage would be very difficult. But bird damage on lawns may be distinguishable from skunk damage by 1. time of year--bird damage tends to occur in the fall 2. grass will be fluffy--birds have to grab grass with their beak and then pull, move and drop. Skunks can claw, shift and press. So a lawn damaged by skunks will still have holes but the grass will be pressed down not strewn about on the surface. Photo is of damage caused by grackles. Taken by Stephen Vantassel. Bird control information
Eating Garden	Identifying what has been eating garden plantings can be extremely difficult to definitively identify.
Daytime Damage	Either-Night or Day	Night-time damage
Birds -Choose species	Pocket Gopher	Deer
Chipmunks	Coyotes	Opossum
Ground Squirrels	Moles	Raccoon
Squirrels, Tree	Rabbits	Rats
Woodchucks/groundhogs		Voles