Knowledgebase

Animal damage to lawn #946585

Asked October 06, 2026, 11:08 AM EDT

This weekend we discovered our lawn was badly damaged with small holes dug up all over the property. It looks more like the work of skunks or raccoons - by the size of the holes it would seem more like the smaller skunk. We would like help identifying the culprit and how we best can fix the lawn and also prevent this from happening again. We have a service that treated the lawn for grubs in the spring. We are very anxious to fix this as soon as possible and are looking forward to your response. Also, do you have any recommendations for Wildlife Management companies? Thank you!

Hennepin County Minnesota

Expert Response


Small pieces of turf peeled back suggest that your culprits may be racoons more than skunks and they may be seeking grubs. Skunks typically leave small, cone-shaped holes but it is difficult to tell exactly just from the holes left behind. What you can do now is replace the turf and water. You can use a motion-activated camera overnight before paying a company for trapping. Local wildlife companies include Wildlife Management Services,<personal data hidden>, or Varment Guard at<personal data hidden>. For more information see

https://extension.umn.edu/about/our-stories/news/yard-and-garden-news/whats-digging-up-your-yard

https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/how-to/managing-skunk-and-raccoon-damage-lawns


Diane M Replied October 06, 2026, 5:57 PM EDT

Loading ...