Small holes or patches of torn-up turf on a lawn often signal the presence of a skunk, an animal whose nocturnal foraging habits can cause significant yard damage. This behavior is a survival strategy driven by a keen sense of smell and a constant search for food sources hidden beneath the grass. Understanding the skunk’s motivation and identifying the specific signs of its activity are the first steps in protecting a lawn. The solution involves addressing the underlying food source that attracts them and implementing immediate deterrents to encourage them to forage elsewhere.
The Primary Motivation for Digging
Skunks possess an excellent sense of smell, which they use to locate a high-protein diet of subsurface invertebrates, primarily white grubs, earthworms, and other soil-dwelling insects. These invertebrates provide the necessary nutrients, particularly fat, required for energy and to prepare for winter dormancy. The digging activity is a direct result of the skunk pressing its nose into the soil to pinpoint the scent of the prey.
Once a food source is detected, the skunk uses its long, powerful front claws to excavate the turf and reach the insects. The grubs and worms reside near the grass roots, making them easily accessible to the skunk’s shallow digging technique. This foraging occurs during the evening and early morning hours because skunks are nocturnal. A lawn with a high concentration of grubs, even a few per square foot, becomes a reliable feeding ground that the skunk will revisit.
Identifying Skunk Damage vs. Other Pests
Confirming a skunk is the culprit requires examining the pattern of damage left behind. Skunk foraging results in numerous small, shallow, cone-shaped holes or divots, typically one to three inches across and only a couple of inches deep. The appearance is often described as though the lawn has been aerated, with small mounds of loosened soil surrounding each hole.
This type of damage is distinct from that caused by other common lawn pests. Raccoons are more destructive, using their dexterous front paws to lift and peel back entire sections of sod. Moles create raised tunnels and mounds of soil on the surface, as they search for worms beneath the ground rather than digging from above. Observing the size and shape of the disturbed area confirms the animal responsible.
Controlling the Underlying Food Source
The most effective long-term strategy for preventing skunk damage is to eliminate the primary incentive: beetle grubs. Grub control methods are divided into biological and chemical applications, and the timing of the treatment is important. Preventative chemical treatments, often containing active ingredients like imidacloprid or chlorantraniliprole, should be applied in early summer (typically June or July) to kill newly hatched grubs when they are small and vulnerable.
Curative treatments, such as fast-acting insecticides like trichlorfon, are applied later in the season (usually August through September) to target larger, active grubs. Biological controls offer natural options. These include applying beneficial nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora species), which parasitize the grubs, or using milky spore (Paenibacillus popilliae), a bacterium that targets Japanese beetle grubs. All treatments should be watered into the soil immediately after application to reach the grubs feeding near the root zone.
Immediate Deterrents and Repellents
While addressing the grub population solves the problem systemically, immediate action is often needed to deter a skunk that has already established a foraging pattern. Since skunks are nocturnal, motion-activated devices are effective in startling the animal during its nightly visits. Motion-sensor lights or sprinklers that activate suddenly can make the area undesirable for feeding.
Scent and taste repellents also work by making the lawn unappealing to the skunk. Products containing capsaicin (the compound that makes peppers spicy) or strong-smelling natural substances like citrus peels or castor oil can be applied to the affected areas. Temporary physical barriers, such as laying down netting or chicken wire flat on the grass surface, can impede the skunk’s ability to dig. The netting makes rooting around difficult, encouraging the animal to move to an easier feeding location.