Help- some thing's digging up my lawnlawn

Hello,

I'm a new user and hoping someone out there can help! Over the last few weeks some sort of animal has been digging up my garden. It seems to be happening overnight although I couldn't say for sure, as I am at work during the day.

The damage is getting quite bad now and consists of a series of small holes probably 5-9cm wide and about 2 inches (or so deep). There is usually a clump of grass torn off the top and then the animal digs down a short distance into the earth.

The only things I have seen in the garden are birds- pigeons, magpies and smaller birds and not sure they could do this damage? I have uploaded a few photos, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

It might be a mole coming up, but usually you'd get nice soil billowing over the sides of the hole. So not sure.

 

Rooks digging for chafer grubs will do that. Badgers looking for worms will dig deeper holes.

 

Thanks. Yes it looks like something is digging to find something to eat rather than burrowing.

How can I tell if its chafer grubs they're after rather than leatherjackets or other beasties?

 

Without digging? No way. And I only said chafer grubs as they were the first soil living grubs which came to mind.

 

Didn't know that rooks went out digging of a night.

Badgers dig for Chafer Grubs and can destroy a lawn in the process, a local property uses low electric fencing to prevent Badgers destroying their lawns.

If it's rabbits scratching around they normally leave some droppings behind.

 

However, rooks do get up very early. They start screeching here at first light.

 

I'm thinking birds too.