Top Seven Connecticut Lawn Damaging Animals

Connecticut is home to seven wild animals that do damage to Lawns.

Moles, voles, skunks, raccoons, Woodchucks (groundhogs), chipmunks and gray squirrels are the main lawn damaging animals in the state of Connecticut. I will go through a brief explanation on each animal and the damage they cause to your yard. I could add fox to the list, but they usually only take over burrows of other animals, usually woodchucks.

Lawn Damage Skunks cause to lawns.

Skunks typically cause two types of damage to Connecticut lawns.

• Skunks will dig small cone shaped holes in the ground while grubbing. Grubbing is when skunks are eating the grubs and sometimes earth worms in your lawn. The skunks dig with pinpoint accuracy, they actually can smell the grub 1-2 inches underground. Skunks will also dig up yellow jacket nests and eat all the larva. If that yellow jacket nest you have been meaning to get rid of is all over the lawn, thank a skunk.
• Skunks dig burrows, the hole will be about the size of a grapefruit usually. Most of the time they will do this under a deck, shed, or house crawlspace but I have seen this under hedges and under pine trees.

Woodchucks (groundhogs) and the damage they cause.

Woodchucks can cause some serious lawn damage, and forget having a garden if you have a woodchuck. Woodchucks are one of the most common animals I get called to remove from lawns. The maddest person I have ever seen because of wildlife was due to a woodchuck. The estate just installed $10,000 worth of ornamental flowers over two hillsides along the driveway. In one evening a single woodchuck ate the flower tops off half the plants. He was one of the largest woodchucks I have ever removed, and defiantly the most destructive expense wise to a lawn.

• Woodchucks eat everything that grows. The deer proof plants you can buy are not woodchuck proof. They may eat them last, but they are as likely to eat them first. I have even seen woodchucks pick only the purple flowers.
• Woodchucks dig the most elaborate burrow system of any animal in CT. Woodchuck burrows can be large. The burrow will usually have two exits one main and an escape exit. Sometimes the escape exit will be dug just to the grass roots, making it hidden. One client rolled his lawn tractor because a woodchuck did this on the side of a small hill.
• Woodchuck burrows can cause structural damage. I have seen sidewalks broken, and corners of sheds sink in the ground due to wood chucks.

Lawn Damage caused by moles and voles

Moles and voles cause damage that can look similar but are vastly different. Moles are insectivores they tunnel underground searching for food. When you step on mole tunnels you will feel the ground sink. Voles also known as meadow mice eat vegetation and seeds.

• Moles can create volcano like mounds of dirt on your lawn. this is when they are using deep tunnels and pushing dirt to the surface. To fix this damage don’t step on the mound. Pick the mound up or use a rake to spread the dirt.
• Moles will make shallow tunnels underground. Many homeowners have twisted ankles tripping over mole tunnels. These can be stepped on to save the grass from dying.
• Voles will eat tunnels throughout the lawn. The tunnels will look like ditches when you lift the dead grass off the top. This is most noticeable early spring when the winter snows melt off reveling the Vole damage caused to the yard over the winter.

Raccoons lawn damage in Connecticut

Raccoons cause a few problems to lawns in CT.

• Raccoons will roll up a lawn when looking for bugs to eat. Sod is a favorite target of raccoons in this way. The raccoons will roll up somewhat fresh sod so that it will look like it just came off the truck. On regular seeded lawns they will rip open large patches of the lawn in this way.
• Raccoons make latrines, and will go to the bathroom in the same spot every time it is in the area. One of my Madison clients had this problem where the raccoons would relieve themselves on a stone bench in their garden nightly. Raccoon droppings can carry round worm eggs, so this is not only disgusting but also dangerous.

Lawn damage caused by Squirrels

Squirrels including chipmunks cause their own lawn damage. Both will dig up and eat flower bulbs, though the chipmunk does this more. Chipmunks also dig burrows. a Chipmunk Burrow will not have dirt around the outside and be the size of a golf ball. The hole nearly always go straight down 3-4 inches before turning.

• Gray Squirrels will bury food in the yard. This happens especially in the fall. The squirrels will dig fake holes trying to throw off other squirrels that may be watching.
• Squirrels and chipmunks will dig up seeds and bulbs you have planted.