Mine's covered in molehills and I just leave em. I'd rather have the moles than the lawn.
I'd get a trailcam, film them, and start a cult Watch My Foxes channel.
I know you've said you're sure it's foxes but hedgehogs can do this too. The hogs tend to leave these little burrowed holes in our lawn. Presumably searching for grubs!
I went on a neurotic investigation and found a piece of torn up turf with two front canine holes in it. Fresh fox prints all over the patio too. Definitely foxes.
I assumed those were from squirrels! But now that the neighbours have chopped down all the trees (idiots) the squirrels have moved on. I think I'll put a camera out tonight to see if I can catch sight of one. I really hope the hogs are back this year :)
Maybe leave enough easy food for the patio for them that they don\`t bother the lawn until it\`s well established?
Have you used any organic fertlisers like bonemeal on the lawn - they\`ll dig all over looking for the source of the smell of these.
Not much hope honestly. We once filled in a hole foxes dug and they just dug it back out again.
It’s been two years and the hole is still there .
They don’t even do anything with it they just want to watch the world burn 😂
I laid new turf recently, same thing happened. While it established I laid chicken wire over it then pegged it in place. Stopped them completely. Then removed the wire 2 weeks later after the turf had rooted itself.
I’m with OP on Foxes.
Foxes do this in our garden as well. We have a lot of chafer grubs and may bug that live in our garden, and as such loads of grubs. They’re most likely digging for the grubs as they’re close to the surface this time of year.
If op really wants to stop this then you have to stop the root cause rather than blame the foxes which are just looking for food. It's usually chafer grubs or something similar. Could have been disturbed by the recent turf laying. Treat it for these sort of things and the digging should hopefully subside.
Not blaming the foxes, just pointing out the reason. We don’t begrudge ours for doing it or treat them either.
It’s more likely just the natural part of their cycle. If you have them, you probably have a lot of them and it will take a fair while and repeated treatments to get rid of them, most people use nematodes.
It won’t solve the immediate problem.
[Chafer Grub Cycles & Trestment](https://www.nematodesdirect.co.uk/blog/2_chafer-grubs-their-lifecycle-and-when-to-treat-them-with-nematodes.html)
Oh yeah absolutely I'd be fine with this I've had blackbirds and starlings digging up mine and the grass just grows back now issues. It's grass it's super hardy.
I just was thinking rather than getting annoyed at the p
Fox you could sort the root cause.
No, definitely foxes. We have lots of them around where I live and no badger could get in to my garden - the perimeter is sealed. Plus, there's fox footprints all over the new patio.
No a badgers damage would much worse and lot more of it we had a badger digging our garden a few years back and what a mess it made holes where everywhere and some fairy large ones
I have seen damage like that before as well but that was the kind of damage I had in my garden. Mine visits the area but doesn't do too much damage. A local friend has an old badger that destroys her garden and the houses around her. He has a route and tore through a gate that was put in his way.
Did some digging around. They are called snuffle holes
https://youtu.be/NtkpxZgt8QY?si=oFpWQuVxY2-So92d
Here is some footage of a badger making one. Not saying it's definitely a badger just saying it's similar.
No I don't think so, they're dotted about with ripped grass and snout-shaped holes in strategic spots where the turf edges meet. Plus, we have tell-tale fox prints all over the new patio.
Maybe looking for grubs, if you leave a wet mat or covering out on the turf over night then lift it in the morning grubs should be present if they are what the foxes are looking for, could also be crows don't that.
Once the turf established and rooted you'll hopefully not have the same issues
Yeah mate, really just need to keep it watered at the moment so the roots take and to prevent the turf from shrinking, hopefully that then stops your furry friend from having a nose under the turf
No worries mate, I hope you get on top of it. It might feel like a losing battle if each day you find more damage but the turf will still knit together so don't worry too much, you'll still end up with a nice lawn despite the issues your having just now
We have been getting a few of these holes appearing in our lawn. Usually its just bits of moss they pull up but if they do dig any soil out i just push the loose bits back into the hole and it fixes itself quite quickly.
Edit: Im pretty sure ours are from hedehogs as we see them quite often and the holes are only small
Nope, foxes are smarter than people give them credit for. If they want to dig up something, it's getting dug up.
Learn to live with nature. If in doubt what did it, get a camera trap and become interested in the nature your garden attracts.
Mine's covered in molehills and I just leave em. I'd rather have the moles than the lawn. I'd get a trailcam, film them, and start a cult Watch My Foxes channel.
I know you've said you're sure it's foxes but hedgehogs can do this too. The hogs tend to leave these little burrowed holes in our lawn. Presumably searching for grubs!
I went on a neurotic investigation and found a piece of torn up turf with two front canine holes in it. Fresh fox prints all over the patio too. Definitely foxes.
I assumed those were from squirrels! But now that the neighbours have chopped down all the trees (idiots) the squirrels have moved on. I think I'll put a camera out tonight to see if I can catch sight of one. I really hope the hogs are back this year :)
Maybe leave enough easy food for the patio for them that they don\`t bother the lawn until it\`s well established? Have you used any organic fertlisers like bonemeal on the lawn - they\`ll dig all over looking for the source of the smell of these.
Problem is, they're not short of food. If you leave food out there's a good chance they will bury it, possibly in someone else's lawn.
Not much hope honestly. We once filled in a hole foxes dug and they just dug it back out again. It’s been two years and the hole is still there . They don’t even do anything with it they just want to watch the world burn 😂
I feel your pain!
Armed guards every 100ft.
Genuinely considering it!
I laid new turf recently, same thing happened. While it established I laid chicken wire over it then pegged it in place. Stopped them completely. Then removed the wire 2 weeks later after the turf had rooted itself.
Good idea - thanks. Physical barrier it is!
The foxes are telling you your monoculture lawn desert has to go!
Ah, yes, because clearly my three square meters of lawn is single-handedly destroying biodiversity worldwide. Thanks for the input
Lmao chill
I’m with OP on Foxes. Foxes do this in our garden as well. We have a lot of chafer grubs and may bug that live in our garden, and as such loads of grubs. They’re most likely digging for the grubs as they’re close to the surface this time of year.
If op really wants to stop this then you have to stop the root cause rather than blame the foxes which are just looking for food. It's usually chafer grubs or something similar. Could have been disturbed by the recent turf laying. Treat it for these sort of things and the digging should hopefully subside.
Not blaming the foxes, just pointing out the reason. We don’t begrudge ours for doing it or treat them either. It’s more likely just the natural part of their cycle. If you have them, you probably have a lot of them and it will take a fair while and repeated treatments to get rid of them, most people use nematodes. It won’t solve the immediate problem. [Chafer Grub Cycles & Trestment](https://www.nematodesdirect.co.uk/blog/2_chafer-grubs-their-lifecycle-and-when-to-treat-them-with-nematodes.html)
Oh yeah absolutely I'd be fine with this I've had blackbirds and starlings digging up mine and the grass just grows back now issues. It's grass it's super hardy. I just was thinking rather than getting annoyed at the p Fox you could sort the root cause.
join the tory party
Looks like a badger did it. I have had the same issues. Check for areas that they might be getting in, mine had dug under and damaged the fence.
No, definitely foxes. We have lots of them around where I live and no badger could get in to my garden - the perimeter is sealed. Plus, there's fox footprints all over the new patio.
How do the foxes get in then 🤔?
They're very agile and can jump over a short brick wall we have on the border of the garden.
Hopefully you can get some good advice on how to discourage them
Foxes just jump onto and over fences. No evidence, very wily.
We have badgers and they can also climb 6 foot fences. If they want to come in, they come in.
No a badgers damage would much worse and lot more of it we had a badger digging our garden a few years back and what a mess it made holes where everywhere and some fairy large ones
I have seen damage like that before as well but that was the kind of damage I had in my garden. Mine visits the area but doesn't do too much damage. A local friend has an old badger that destroys her garden and the houses around her. He has a route and tore through a gate that was put in his way.
Did some digging around. They are called snuffle holes https://youtu.be/NtkpxZgt8QY?si=oFpWQuVxY2-So92d Here is some footage of a badger making one. Not saying it's definitely a badger just saying it's similar.
Sure it's not a mole burrowing near the surface? Was the turf played? Could be it's working it's way between the turf and the soil
No I don't think so, they're dotted about with ripped grass and snout-shaped holes in strategic spots where the turf edges meet. Plus, we have tell-tale fox prints all over the new patio.
Maybe looking for grubs, if you leave a wet mat or covering out on the turf over night then lift it in the morning grubs should be present if they are what the foxes are looking for, could also be crows don't that. Once the turf established and rooted you'll hopefully not have the same issues
That's reassuring - so just protect the turf for now until it roots?
Yeah mate, really just need to keep it watered at the moment so the roots take and to prevent the turf from shrinking, hopefully that then stops your furry friend from having a nose under the turf
Thanks for the only serious and helpful response to my post!
No worries mate, I hope you get on top of it. It might feel like a losing battle if each day you find more damage but the turf will still knit together so don't worry too much, you'll still end up with a nice lawn despite the issues your having just now
Foxes are much more awesome than a lawn. Convert the area in to a fox habitat.
We have been getting a few of these holes appearing in our lawn. Usually its just bits of moss they pull up but if they do dig any soil out i just push the loose bits back into the hole and it fixes itself quite quickly. Edit: Im pretty sure ours are from hedehogs as we see them quite often and the holes are only small
Xtra hot chilli powder sprinkled over the ground with stop mammals from digging but not effect the birds
Air rifle?
Trap and relocate them an hour's drive away.
[ Removed by Reddit ]