Skunks and Raccoons Are Tearing Up My Lawn
Chunks of turf flipped over every morning, holes the size of a fist, a lawn that peels back like a carpet. They are not after the grass. They are after the grubs under it, and the turf lifts because the grubs already ate the roots. Lumen Landscaping repairs torn up lawns with topsoil and new sod across Hamilton: call (905) 906-0671 or send the form for a free written quote.
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The problem
What you are seeing
You come out one morning in September and the back lawn looks ploughed. Flaps of turf are flipped over, there are cone shaped holes everywhere, and the sod comes up in your hand like a rug when you try to put it back. You tamp it down. The next morning it is worse. By the end of the month there is more dirt than grass, and the dog has started joining in.
Skunks and raccoons are not eating your lawn. They are eating white grubs, the larvae of beetles, that live in the top few inches of soil and eat grass roots. Grub damaged turf lifts easily because the roots are gone, which is exactly why an animal can peel it back with one paw, and why the lawn was already in trouble before the first hole appeared. Ontario's three lawn grubs are the European chafer, the June beetle and the Japanese beetle, and the European chafer is the common one across the south of the province.
The animals dig hardest in spring and fall, when the grubs are big and feeding near the surface. One of our customers in Hamilton had skunks dig out a good part of her lawn, and after the repair said it looked like a whole new backyard. That is the job this page is about.
Our Work
Lawns we have put back
Why they dig, and why the turf lifts
The digging is the last step in a chain that started underground months earlier.
- Grubs under the grass: White, C shaped grubs with brown heads eat the roots of the grass from below. The turf browns in patches, feels spongy, and lifts because nothing is holding it down any more.
- The animals' calendar: Grubs feed near the surface in late summer and fall and again in spring, and that is when skunks, raccoons and birds dig for them. The damage is worst in those two windows and quiet in between.
- A lawn that was already weak: A thin lawn on a skim of soil over clay has shallow roots to begin with. Grubs finish them off faster, and the turf peels in bigger sheets. The patchy lawn and the dug up lawn are often the same lawn.
- An easy meal: Once an animal finds grubs in a lawn, it comes back every night until they are gone. The holes spread outward from where the first one was.
- Drought stress: Grub damage shows first as what looks like drought, and a dry lawn cannot grow new roots to replace the ones being eaten. A wet fall hides the problem until the animals point it out.
Google reviews
What our customers say
“The team did an excellent job re-sodding our backyard. They were professional, careful working around our pool, and the finished result looks fantastic.”
“I recently had Lumen remove the surface of our weed-infested lawn and replace it with fresh sod on the larger of two areas, and river rock on the smaller area. It was a pleasure dealing with Jeff at Lumen.”
“Excellent experience with Lumen Landscaping. Efficient, knowledgeable, hardworking, and my lawn looks fantastic. Highly recommend! I had Lumen landscape a second project one year later. Same terrific experience.”
The fix
How we fix a lawn the animals have torn up
First, the grubs. Repairing a lawn while the grubs are still eating it is a repair done twice, so the grubs get dealt with first. Since Ontario's cosmetic pesticide ban in 2009, the old chemical grub killers are gone from the shelves, and what garden centres sell for grubs in Ontario is beneficial nematodes, tiny organisms watered into moist soil while the grubs are small, following the package. Keeping the lawn watered through late summer helps too, because a lawn that is growing roots can outpace what the grubs eat. We tell you honestly that we are not a lawn care company, and we are happy to recommend one for an ongoing program.
Then the lawn. If the damage is a few patches, the torn turf can be laid back, tamped or rolled, and watered, and it often knits in. If the rest of the lawn is thin too, dethatching, fertilizer and a good grass seed blend will thicken it over the season, and that part is a job for the lawn care company we recommend. When more lawn is gone than left, we excavate and dispose of the old grass, complete minor regrading and rake out debris, bring in new topsoil where the roots need it, apply sod starter fertilizer, install premium Kentucky bluegrass sod and roll it for proper contact. You get a 12 month custom lawn care plan to help the new lawn settle in. That is our sod and lawns service, and the customer whose lawn the skunks dug out got exactly that.
What about the skunks? Ontario's wildlife rules only allow a trapped animal to be released within one kilometre of where it was caught, so trapping moves the skunk to the neighbour's lawn at best, and the grubs are still in yours. Taking away the food is the fix. A lawn with deep roots in real soil, on the Stoney Creek Mountain subdivisions beside open fields or in Ancaster and Dundas next to the conservation lands where the animals live, is a lawn the animals walk past. If the soil under yours is a skim over clay, see our page on clay soil where nothing grows, because that is why the roots were shallow in the first place.
Check this yourself first
Five minutes on your knees at the edge of the damage will confirm the grubs and tell you how far they have spread.
- The tug test: Grab a handful of brown or torn turf and pull. If it lifts like a carpet with no roots holding it, grubs have eaten the roots. Healthy turf tears and resists.
- Dig at the edge: Cut a square of turf at the edge of the damaged area, including the top two or three inches of soil, and turn it over. Count the white, C shaped grubs. Check a few squares, because the animals dig where the grubs are thickest.
- Mark how far it goes: Walk the whole lawn and note where the turf is still rooted. The grub area is usually bigger than the dug area, and the repair has to cover the roots that are gone, not just the holes you can see.
- Check the season: Digging in September and October, or in April and May, is grubs almost every time. Digging in midsummer is more often a buried bone, a nest or compost, and the fix is different.
- When to call: A lawn that is more dirt than grass, turf that lifts in sheets, or digging that has gone on for more than a couple of weeks is worth fixing once the season turns. Call (905) 906-0671 and we will take a look.
Planning
What a lasting repair includes, and what changes the price
A lasting repair always includes
- The grubs dealt with first, so the new roots are not the next meal
- The whole grub area repaired, not just the holes
- Small patches laid back, rolled and watered
- Honest advice on the thin areas that only need dethatching and seed
- A lost lawn stripped, regraded, given real topsoil and sodded, then rolled
- A 12 month care plan so the new roots go deep
What affects the price
- How much of the lawn is gone: patches, a thin lawn, or most of it
- Whether the soil under it is deep enough or needs topsoil brought in
- The size of the area, front and back
- Roots or stumps found under the surface, discussed with you before we go on
- Access for the sod and soil delivery
- Timing: sod goes down spring to fall, and the grub season decides when
A typical repair, in plain words. Picture a backyard where the skunks have had a month at it and half the turf is flipped. The nematodes go down in the warm, damp soil of late summer. Once the digging stops, we strip the torn lawn, regrade, bring in topsoil because the shovel found clay, lay sod and roll it. Two weeks of watering later, the owner has the backyard she had before, and the animals have moved on to a lawn with easier roots. On the clay in Binbrook the same job always includes the topsoil, because the shallow roots that let the turf peel were the clay’s doing.
Every quote is written and free, and materials are billed at what they cost us with no markup.
Related
Related pages
Service: sod and lawns. Related problems: a patchy or dead lawn and clay soil where nothing grows. Areas: Hamilton and Stoney Creek. More answers on our FAQ page, and more problems we fix.
FAQs
Skunk and raccoon lawn damage questions
Pull on the torn turf. If it lifts like a carpet with no roots, grubs have eaten them. Then cut a square at the edge of the damage, with the top few inches of soil, and look for white, C shaped grubs with brown heads. Digging in spring or fall, with turf that lifts, is grubs almost every time.
They come back while there is food. Deal with the grubs first, and give the new lawn real soil to root deep in, and there is nothing to dig for. A lawn with shallow roots on a skim of soil over clay is the one that gets torn up, so the soil under the repair matters as much as the sod.
Ontario's wildlife rules only allow a trapped animal to be released within one kilometre of where it was caught, so trapping moves it next door at best, and the grubs that brought it are still in your lawn. Taking away the food is the fix that lasts.
The old chemical grub killers went with Ontario's cosmetic pesticide ban in 2009. What garden centres sell for grubs now is beneficial nematodes, watered into moist soil while the grubs are small, following the package. Keeping the lawn watered through late summer helps the roots keep up. A lawn care company can run a program if you want one.
Small patches, yes. Lay the flaps back, tamp or roll them, and water, and they often knit in if the roots are not completely gone. Once the lawn is more dirt than grass, or the turf is lifting everywhere, new sod on real topsoil is faster and lasts longer.
Once the digging season is over and the grubs have been dealt with, in spring or fall when sod goes down best. Fixing it in the middle of a dig is a repair done twice. We plan the timing with you so the new lawn is not the next meal.
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- 1
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- 2
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Get a Free Quote to Put Your Lawn Back
Tell us how much of the lawn has been dug and what the tug test found. We will tell you whether it is a patch, a thin lawn or a new lawn, and get back to you fast with a free written quote.