Raccoons alongside many other pests can be such a nuisance to homeowners and their lawns. Whether an animal is scavenging for food in the soil or simply searching for a new area to call its home, property damage is often a repercussion that many people face, especially when you’re dealing with raccoons digging holes in your yard.
Woodchucks, armadillos and raccoons all have one thing in common: they love to dig holes in our yards. Grub searching and burrow digging may be why it has become such a necessity for them. 
Woodchucks and armadillos are small creatures while raccoons on the other hand grow to be much larger creatures.
Nonetheless, all three can cause a great amount of damage in a short time period, yet raccoons are one of the most common culprits of property disturbances.
Why Do Raccoons Dig Holes In Your Yard?
Food
Raccoons enjoy digging for grub in the soil, especially late summer to early fall. Grubs alongside other insects serve as a major food source in the raccoon diet.
With their sensitive noses and quick hands, raccoons are able to track insects down and rip parts of the ground apart faster than you know it.Seeing as their hands and fingers closely resemble those of a human’s, picking grub out of the ground is not a problem.These insects are a raccoon magnet.
In fact, popular grub like the European Chaffer beetle may be drawing raccoons directly to your yard.
The European Chaffer beetle has a life cycle spanning as short as one year. This means that its population increases rapidly, thus being a reliable food source for lawn pests.
This may be beneficial to homeowners as it lowers levels of grub damage on gardens and other plants that may inhabit your lawn.
However, the overall damage that raccoons cause is a far bigger issue than grub damage, so eliminating grubs yourself may manage property problems before they can happen.
Using insect control products can easily rid the inhabited area of grub prior to attracting raccoons in the first place.
This way, annoying insects and persistent raccoons can both be out of the picture.
In addition to feeding on insects, raccoons are omnivores that also enjoy feeding on our lovely homegrown gardens.
Gardens are an easy source of readily available food.
These furry creatures enjoy munching on freshly grown vegetables such as potatoes, peas and corn. Moreover, preferred garden fruits to feed on include pears, peaches and grapes. Raccoons love the sweet juiciness that grapes provide, just like we do!
In other words, grapevines filled with grapes serve as a buffet not only to us but to these animals as well.
Rhubarb is another snack for raccoons to munch on. Though pests occasionally choose to eat rhubarb when other food sources are scarce. In response to growing fresh fruits and vegetables in your yard, raccoons dig holes in your yard to retrieve them from the root up and to search for other goodies that may lay under the grass.
Pet food is another factor that attracts raccoons.
If you leave your pet’s food laying around your yard or even have a bird feeder installed, that may also be filling the bellies of raccoons that are invading your property.
Shelter
Once the cold weather begins to approach, many animals resort to living underground when abandoned dens or burrows are unavailable. Animals that do so create their own burrows that serve as cozy homes during the cold seasons until temperatures start to rise again.
The difference between raccoon burrows and other burrows is the time they are created. Most animals dig during the day while raccoons prefer the night. Additionally, raccoon burrows are commonly surrounded by large, ripped chunks of sod and grass that are scattered about messily.
Unlike old and tightly packed dirt, freshly laid sod serves as the popular spot to dig as it is easier to break through.
Raccoons have very skillful and nimble hands that allow them to dig burrows in the soil that go as small as 3 inches and as wide as 10 inches. They are also able to maneuver and squeeze through compact spaces. This allows them to create burrows in places you least expect.
Their burrows serve as a safe and insulated space to take shelter in during the winter.
Prior to the chilly weather, raccoons spend most of their time scavenging for food to keep them alive during the winter. By doing so, their bodies accumulate enough body fat to stay warm and healthy until the spring. In the winter, raccoons undergo a state otherwise known as topor. Times of deep sleep and active periods occur, which differs from hibernation.
Hibernation is a period of long, non-interrupted sleep. This is not what raccoons experience.
Once spring arrives, raccoons then eat extensive amounts of food to make up for the lost weight during the winter and leave their burrow behind.
Raccoons are mobile animals and therefore do not stay settled in one single area for a long time.
This matter contributes to the abundance of burrows across North America.
Water
It is safe to say that most water gardeners are aware of the issues that raccoons cause to their gardens. Water gardens are home to many aquatic animals that serve as a raccoon’s tasty treat.
Frogs, fish and water plants galore! Water gardens are a raccoon’s favorite place to scavenge about. These pests can be found searching through the water, grass and soil for their next meal -especially frog eggs.
If you are unsure about a raccoon’s presence, simply take a look at any traces of wet soil. Raccoon tracks and holes can be imprinted and found in the mud surrounding your water garden.
How To Prevent Wildlife Property Damage
Whether your goal is to manage current pest problems occurring at home or to avoid these nuisances before they even have the chance to appear, there are a series of simple actions you can take to do so. As previously mentioned, ridding your yard of grub and other insects lessens the likelihood of raccoons being attracted to your home.
Eliminating these small pests can be made possible using insect repellent. These are easily accessible and can be purchased as over-the-counter products.
Once your lawn is grub-free, raccoons have one less thing to be attracted to; insect control is both proactive and beneficial for your yard and garden!
Freshly grown gardens are also another factor that may draw raccoons and other animals towards your home.
In order to protect your fruits, vegetables and flowers from property damage, installing fences around the preferred area is easy and effective!
If a raccoon notices a constant food supply from your garden, then the chances of it 
wanting to leave are very low.
To avoid this from happening, using a fence as a barrier between the food and unwanted animals will prove the food supply as no longer constant.
The raccoon will then be forced to find its food elsewhere. Regular fences might not always be the best solution. Raccoons are intelligent creatures that may find ways to work around these barriers.
In these cases, electric fencing is also an open option.
If you choose to decide to install an electric fence, be sure to keep it away from any other animals you may have in your yard.
For instance, having an electric fence surrounding a water garden may shock and kill animals in the water, if a raccoon were to set it off.
Setting up traps is another alternative to consider.
Using live traps to capture unwanted raccoons can be easy, especially when a tasty treat as bait awaits!
Almost any type of food will do the trick but a sweet sugary treat is sure to send a raccoon towards the trap. With the correct placement and a secured set up, your lawn culprit will be on its way.
Contact Us
If you notice signs of wildlife in your house give us a call. At SOS Wildlife Control Inc., we provide raccoon control services for residential, commercial, and industrial clients, guaranteeing effective results every single time. Let us help you solve your wildlife problems. Taking action before it’s too late will help eliminate animal damage repair costs. We are available 24/7, 365 days a year for emergency services, and can easily be reached at 1-800-981-0330. Don’t wait, call us to schedule an appointment for a thorough inspection, removal and prevention to help evacuate all your unwanted wildlife guests in the most humane way possible.
Call SOS Wildlife Control Today 1.800.981.0330!
