Holes in the yard

Could also be squirrels or skunks.

cicadas?

T2B wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@b18g2000vbl.googlegroups. com:

golf ball size cicadas? are we going for a horror movie? (i have annual & 17 year cicadas. neither makes a hole bigger than half an inch) lee

If they don't look like tunnels, I'd say something is foraging for insects. Something like racoons.

Don't know where you're located but down here in south Texas, the first thought would be Armadillos.

I'm in San Jose, so probably not armadillos or cicadas.

I haven't smelled any skunks.

If the critter is looking for insects, maybe that's a good thing?

Karen

I agree, I should have mentioned that geographic region is important.

I'm in central NJ and I had a bunch of holes in my lawn this year but slightly smaller than a golf ball. None of them went more than 4 inches deep. This is periodic Cicada land and my guess is that the holes were made by racoons looking for cicadas.

So, something like racoons or armadilos.

Yes, it's a good thing.

We have loads of cicadas where I live. I've seen the 17 year periodic cicadas emerge twice now. The holes they make are about a half inch in diameter and you can definetly tell its a tunnel, not a hole.

We have loads of skunks too, for all I know it could be skunks instead of racoons digging my lawn. They don't always smell, usually something has to mess with them.

Rarely, but it has happened around here. In fact, we found one sleeping in a very large flower pot one time.

I had thought of that because we have them here in FL, too. I find 'dillo holes most mornings but I've never seen evidence of them in potted plants or in my raised veggie beds. Clumsy little devils don't climb too good. Do they get into potted plants?

Define "hole". Is it just a small round depression, or is it a tunnel?

Steve

Golfball size holes, in my lawn anyway, are usually work of crawdads. If left unchecked the holes can get bigger, much bigger. I push pine cones into the holes, stem side down.

You may need some detective work to identify the cause. Get better clues asking your neighbors (not sure where you live).

She says "It doesn't look like tunnels, as far as I can tell." If not tunnels then they must be depressions... if the ground is soft/muddy and there are rug rats playing they could be making depressions with toys, or even sticks. Animals don't make depressions other than paw prints and those would be easily recognizable as such. Only thing else I can think of is that squirrels were busy digging... they sometimes dig net little holes to retrieve food that was buried previously.

In my yard, when I get small dug-out holes in sod areas, it invariably turns out to be skunks digging for grubs. I've not found a way to combat them safely, they having chemical warfare capability on their side.

Investigated a few holes yesterday, and I couldn't detect any tunnel associated with them.

Thanks, Karen

OMG when I first read "rug rats" I thought of real RATS and a variety called rug rats. eeek. But, I now know you meant kids, or children, and well, don't have any of those right now! No kids, no dog, no cat.

I do, however, have a fig tree that is dropping fruit faster than I can pick it up off the ground. I am worried that is attracting something like... real rug rats!

thanks for everyone's input... Karen

Investigated a few holes yesterday, and I couldn't detect any tunnel associated with them.

Thanks, Karen

Then "something" digging shallow holes. A gopher will leave a very easily identifiable mound. Most other tunneling animals will leave some type of delta, as they have to move the dirt somewhere. About the only thing you could use is one of those game cameras that take pictures of anything that moves in the night.

Or get lucky and see what's doing it.

Steve

might be squirrel burying nuts preparing for the coming winter?