Holes

October 28, 2025

Yesterday Melissa and I were ripped awake at 4:30 am by the sound of Loki’s frantic barking.  Something outside had obviously set him off and he was sounding the alarm.  Melissa was able to quiet him down and I was able to immediately fall asleep.  Melissa was not so lucky.  Even though he was no longer sounding his alarm, both Loki and Zena continued to grumble and give little chirp barks.  Zena got up in my living room chair (her comfort zone in thunderstorms), but Loki kept running back and forth between the dining room window and the front hall for the next hour.  When I got up in the morning, I was wondering what set Loki off.  I went outside to check on my vegetables and make sure nothing had gotten into the few remaining plants in the raised beds.  I had removed the cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) vines after they had stopped producing but there are still one mature and two small watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) in the tall bed.  The tall bed is 30 inches (76 cm) and has not been targeted (yet), but raccoons (Procyon lotor) have eaten several cantaloupes in the shorter 18-inch (45.7 cm) bed in the past.  My watermelons were intact but as I walked back to the house, I noticed several dozen small holes in the lawn between the rose bush (genus, Rosa hybrid) and the wildflower (family, Primulaceae) beds.  

When I went online, I found that raccoons are one of the main animals that dig holes in your yard.  The holes are usually cone-shaped and three to four inches (7.5 to 10 cm) wide, but larger areas up to ten inches (25 cm) may occur.  The holes are created when raccoons are foraging for grubs and other insects. According to Clemson University, raccoons will peel back newly laid sod while searching for food.  Raccoons are omnivorous and eat a variety of plants and animals.  In cities and suburban areas, they dig for grubs and larval insects, eat vegetables and fruit grown in backyards, root through compost piles, steal picnic and pet food that has been left outdoors, and turn over garbage cans in search of food.  According to the University of California, these night creatures can live unnoticed for quite some time as they make their homes in hollow trees, outbuildings, brush piles, rock crevices, a raccoon burrow, crawl spaces, culverts, storm drains, attics, chimneys, or under decks.  Raccoons dig holes in lawns in search of grubs (uperfamily, Scarabaeoidea), earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris), and other insects.

Raccoons have a keen sense of smell which allows them to dig holes to find insect larvae under the grass.  The best way to keep raccoons from digging holes in your yard is to address the grub problem or using deterrents.  Treat your lawn for grubs, especially in late summer and fall, and use methods like motion-activated sprinklers or lights to scare them away.  You can also cover the lawn with netting or chicken wire to create a physical barrier and prevent digging.  You need to maintain proper lawn care, as poor watering practices can make your lawn more attractive to grubs.  If your lawn is damaged, repair it promptly.  If sod has been flipped, reposition it, water it, and consider using a root-building fertilizer to help it re-establish.  I guess it is time for my fall bug-be-gone dusting.

THOUGHTS: I was able to flip the sod on the larger holes that had been made in our yard, but I did not get the bug-be-gone down.  I told myself this would give me something to do today.  Most adult beetles in Arkansas are active in the summer and lay their eggs in the grassy areas.  The eggs hatch and the larva begin to feed on the surface of the soil for several weeks before moving deeper as the fall temps cool.  Arkansas winters are relatively mild, and summers are hot and humid, so the two treatment windows are late summer to early fall (preventive and biological control) and late spring to early summer (curative for spring-feeding pests).  Otherwise, I have holes in my yard.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.