How to identify unknown animal burrows in your yard
Mysterious holes and burrows in a yard often look identical, making it difficult to figure out if you are dealing with harmless wildlife, rats, or mice. Misidentifying the pest stops homeowners from applying the right solution, leaving them worried about their health and home safety.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Look for physical evidence like kicked-out dirt or search online forums for identification.
- 2filling gaps where rodents were seen
- 3Trapping the animal in a lawn funnel and releasing it
- 4Putting down baking soda to catch paw prints
- 5Setting up glue traps
- 6Killing or trapping the animals
- 7Watching the yard after mowing to spot the animals
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Wasn’t sure exactly where to post this. But figured I’d try here first. Decent sized hole being dug under this bush.”source ↗
“A bunch of holes in my backyard.”source ↗
“Are these rat burrows?”source ↗
“I forgot one clementine overnight on my coffee table and i am pretty sure it wasn’t like this before. Im worried for my health. I saw a mice in my kitchen a month ago but filled the gap it ran back into”source ↗
“I live in the more rural desert areas of Arizona and found this in my walls above my bedroom trashcan. Thought it was just a small puncture but it looks like a tunnel. Termites?”source ↗
“Still not sure I want it in my house/garage though?”source ↗
“I’m not familiar with Texas, but I have moles/voles, chipmunks, and skunks digging up my yard in PA.”source ↗
“Might be armadillos. I’m in North Texas too and I have similar problem. My neighbor and I have killed two armadillos in the past week doing this.”source ↗
“I'm also in DFW and I am literally dealing with the same thing! It's squirrels.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 31What are these tiny red beads in my house?
- 6How do I identify strange white patches and spiraled growths on my lawn?
- 7How to identify tiny unknown bugs found inside the house
- 3How to permanently seal an animal burrow near a foundation
- 4Why are there strange symmetrical patterns and holes in my lawn?