Last year I live trapped 7 raccoons in my rural 1/2 acre lawn. When the same digging occurred this summer and into fall on new over seeded spots I was not a happy gardener and was certain it was coons again. After countless attempts at trapping with no success I finally caught something and it was a young squirrel. We don't have oaks or maples, put down Grubex in June and rarely see squirrels around the lawn because we have a dog. Thanks for this post , I missed the original one and have been lurking here since over seeding in early September. I never thought squirrels could be the culprits but looks like for now anyway they are the guilty ones.

Or skunks. Any of the above can be guilty of digging in lawns. Squirrels are hiding things for winter. Skunks are going after grubs or worms. Raccoons just dig for the heck of it sometimes, but also to feed. On the down side, it causes some damage. On the up side, it means you have a healthy enough locale that they're comfortable poking around and happy.

I have motion-triggered sprinklers that work. I also lay concrete reinforcing wire on top of my veggie bed soil before I plant, so that they can't dig up all of the plants. I have a four foot wide bridge over my pond where it is three feet deep, and the fish hide there at night. Raccoons will kill a small dog and seriously injure large ones, but they don't like dogs and the locals high-tail it out of the yard when my lab starts barking at them. Mikey and Sam the Dog treed one in the front Locust tree last Friday at 3 am, and he slept there all day during the garden tour at our house on Saturday, so everyone got a good daytime view of his sharp little claws. We periodically hosed him down to make his life miserable, and the jays and crows harassed him all day, so it may be a month or two before he returns. I can always hope, anyway.

The best way to lower the animal activity in your yard is to remove ALL sources of food. All pets should be feed in the house, (Personally, I think pet Cats should be kept in the house, to protect the wild animals) All garbage can should be enclosed, OR have a lid that can not be removed. Hinged lids on some garbage receptacle only give the animals a something to do while waiting for the food. I have watched an racoon open the lid, craw in, enjoy his meal, push the lid up, and leave. All grass seed, bulbs, etc should be stored in secure containers. The scent can also attract animals ever if they can not reach the food item, Finally there are plants that you can put into your garden to discourage animals. The kind of plants will be determined by your locations. As a side: skunks and most animal will only go into the defensive mode, when they are attacked or feel threatened. Rushing out of the door yelling at them waving a broom will definitely make them feel threatened. They could also see a barking dog as a threat.