How to stop animals from digging trenches around house foundations
Burrowing rodents dig deep trenches along home foundations, leaving property owners searching for ways to eliminate the pests and prevent further structural damage. While backfilling with soil and mulch is a common response, stopping the activity requires targeting the animals directly or encouraging natural predators like hawks to clear the yard.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Considering extreme measures like dynamite
- 2Backfilling with soil and mulch
- 3Setting traps
- 4Spraying holes with pepper spray
- 5Treating soil for grubs to eliminate food sources
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“What infernal critter is g doing this? They are trying to trench all the way around my foundation.”source ↗
“How the kill them? And what to do to keep them from digging.”source ↗
“Isit ok the backfill w soil and mulch?”source ↗
“I had a chipmunk problem for a while but a group of redtail hawks made my roof and backyard their home for a few weeks.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3How to permanently seal an animal burrow near a foundation
- 10How to permanently stop bugs coming out of a wall crack
- 10How to stop animals from digging holes in my lawn at night
- 9Why do foundation repairs cost so much more than quoted?
- 4Why are there big soil gaps around my foundation?
- 3Why are animals chewing holes in my car plastic and gas tank?