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What Is Digging Holes in My Yard? Identify It by the Hole

Armadillos, skunks, groundhogs, voles and squirrels all dig differently. Hole size, shape, soil spray and timing identify the animal before you set anything.

By The Grow In Backyard Team 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A nine-banded armadillo foraging in leaf litter
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Nearly every animal that digs a yard leaves a different signature — hole size, shape, where the soil went, and whether it happened in daylight. Reading that correctly matters, because the responses range from “treat for grubs” to “do not seal that burrow until autumn.”

Identify it

Reading the damage
SignAnimalWhen
Conical pits 3–5 in wide, soil sprayed one wayArmadilloNight
Shallow cone holes, like trowel jabsSkunkNight
Turf rolled back in sheetsRaccoonNight
Burrow 8–12 in, large soil fan, under structuresGroundhogDay
Narrow surface runways in grass, dime-sized holesVoleBoth
Conical mounds, raised ridges, no open holeMoleBoth
Small neat holes, nuts nearbySquirrel / chipmunkDay
Mulch and leaf litter turned over, little excavationOpossumNight

Grub hunters: armadillo and skunk

Armadillos and skunks are digging for the same thing — grubs, worms and insect larvae — which is why they respond to the same fix.

An armadillo locates grubs several inches down by smell and can leave dozens of pits in a single night. Skunk diggings are shallower and neater.

What to do:

  • Treat for grubs if numbers are high. Beneficial nematodes work and are harmless to everything else; milky spore targets Japanese beetle grubs specifically. Remove the food and the digging usually stops.
  • Water less. Damp soil brings grubs and worms nearer the surface.
  • Motion-activated sprinklers genuinely work on both, being nocturnal and easily startled.
  • Exclusion around decks and sheds, using buried hardware cloth.

Digging that stops on its own

A burst of overnight digging that ends after a week or two usually means the animal cleared the local grub population and moved on. If the lawn is otherwise healthy, waiting is a legitimate strategy.

Groundhogs, which are the structural problem

A groundhog burrow runs twenty to forty feet with multiple entrances and chambers, and under a shed, deck, patio or foundation that is a genuine engineering concern rather than a cosmetic one.

Entrance: 8–12 inches across, with a substantial fan of excavated soil.

Exclusion is the durable fix:

  1. Confirm it is empty. Loosely pack the entrance with newspaper and check for two or three days — if nothing reopens it, nobody is home.
  2. Never seal in spring or early summer. Young are present, sealing them in is cruel and illegal in many jurisdictions.
  3. Trench and bury hardware cloth at least 12 inches deep, with an outward-facing L at the bottom, because groundhogs dig down when they meet a barrier.
  4. Remove cover — brush piles, long grass, woodpiles near the structure.

Check the law before trapping

Live trapping and relocating wildlife is regulated or prohibited in many US states and other countries — relocated animals also usually die, having no territory or shelter. Exclusion is legal everywhere, permanent, and does not require you to handle an animal.

Raccoons

Distinctive: they roll turf back in sheets like lifting a carpet, taking the grubs underneath. Fresh sod and recently laid turf are especially vulnerable because it lifts easily.

Same underlying fix — reduce grubs — plus securing bins, removing pet food, and motion-activated deterrents.

Small daytime holes

Squirrels and chipmunks, caching or retrieving nuts. Small, neat, shallow, and usually not worth acting on.

Chipmunks will burrow more substantially near foundations and in flower pots, but the holes stay small — around two inches — with no soil mound, which distinguishes them from everything above.

Common questions

What is digging small holes all over my yard?

Cone-shaped holes three to five inches across, scattered widely and appearing overnight, are almost always armadillos or skunks foraging for grubs. Armadillo holes are deeper and more conical with soil sprayed in one direction; skunk diggings are shallower, roughly cone-shaped, and often described as looking like someone jabbed the lawn with a trowel. Both are hunting the same thing, which is why grub control usually solves it.

Do armadillos dig holes in yards?

Yes, constantly — it is how they feed. An armadillo digs shallow conical pits three to five inches wide hunting insects and grubs, and a single animal can leave dozens across a lawn in one night. They also excavate larger burrows, often seven to ten inches wide, under sheds, decks and foundations. Their sense of smell locates grubs several inches down, so the digging follows the food.

Do possums dig holes?

Rarely. Opossums are poor diggers and mostly use burrows other animals abandoned, along with brush piles, hollow logs and spaces under decks. They do turn over loose mulch and leaf litter looking for food, which gets mistaken for digging. If something has excavated a substantial burrow, look at groundhogs, skunks or armadillos before possums.

What is burrowing under my shed?

A large burrow entrance eight to twelve inches across with a fan of excavated soil is most likely a groundhog, and their tunnel systems can run twenty to forty feet with multiple entrances. Skunks also den under sheds and decks but dig smaller entrances. The identification matters, because a groundhog tunnel system beneath a structure can undermine foundations and slabs in a way a skunk den does not.

How do you get rid of groundhogs under a shed?

Confirm the burrow is empty before sealing anything — never in spring or early summer, when young are present and sealing them in is both cruel and illegal in many places. Then exclude: dig a trench and bury hardware cloth at least twelve inches deep with an outward L-shaped lip, since groundhogs dig down at a barrier. Remove cover and food nearby. Live trapping is regulated in many jurisdictions, so check before buying a trap.

What digs holes in a yard at night?

Most yard diggers are nocturnal — armadillos, skunks, raccoons and rats all work at night. Raccoons roll back sections of turf like a carpet to get the grubs underneath, which is distinctive. Squirrels and chipmunks dig during the day, in small, neat, shallow holes. So if the damage appears overnight, you can rule out the daytime diggers immediately.

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