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 the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 13.3× more often in r/homeowners than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Look for physical evidence like kicked-out dirt or search online forums for identification.Did this help you?
- 2filling gaps where rodents were seenDid this help you?
- 3Trapping the animal in a lawn funnel and releasing itDid this help you?
- 4Putting down baking soda to catch paw printsDid this help you?
- 5Setting up glue trapsDid this help you?
- 6Killing or trapping the animalsDid this help you?
- 7Watching the yard after mowing to spot the animalsDid this help you?
- 8Pushing a broom handle into the hole to check its depth and layoutDid this help you?
- 9Pouring sand flushed with water into the holeDid this help you?
- 10Using a humane trap from a hardware store baited with carrots or vegetablesDid this help you?
- 11Filling the hole with road base or big gravel mixed into dirt and tamping it downDid this help you?
- 12Using Mighty Mint packetsDid this help you?
- 13Filling holes with concreteDid this help you?
- 14Asking online forums for identification guessesDid this help you?
- 15Guessing based on local wildlife presence such as squirrels or raccoonsDid this help you?
- 16Running a hose down the hole to see if it fills up or flushes an animal outDid this help you?
- 17Using security cameras to catch the animal diggingDid this help you?
- 18Filling the sunken spots with sand to level the yardDid this help you?
- 19Digging up garden edging to follow the tunnel pathDid this help you?
- 20Step the mounts back downDid this help you?
- 21Spraying the yard with pesticide to kill grubs and remove the food source.Did this help you?
- 22Ignoring the digging and considering it free lawn aeration.Did this help you?
- 23Mowing over the dirt piles to level the grass.Did this help you?
- 24Checking for loose dirt around the opening to see if it was dug outDid this help you?
- 25Posting photos on internet forums to ask for identification helpDid this help you?
- 26Calling an exterminator out to take a lookDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Looks like it was dug out as you see the mound of dirt and rocks on and beyond the Tree of Heaven (which I'm taking care of, which made me see this hole in the first place).”source ↗
“Any animal burrow specialists out there that can help me understand what I'm dealing with?”source ↗
“If identification is possible, best practices for mitigating the issue with the animal and its impact would be greatly helpful and appreciated.”source ↗
“in the last week every morning I find new areas of my yard dug up.”source ↗
“In my yard it's the squirrels.”source ↗
“Any animal burrow specialists out there that can help me understand what I'm dealing with?”source ↗
“If identification is possible, best practices for mitigating the issue with the animal and its impact would be greatly helpful and appreciated.”source ↗
“I see them out back as well. I figured skunks because I see their families scurrying around at night.”source ↗
“This happens in my yard. It was crows”source ↗
“I had an armadillo dig a similar hole. They’ll destroy lawns.”source ↗
“I filled it back in but he kept digging it out again so I filled it with gravel first and that stopped him.”source ↗
“The mounts of dirt along the fence have been increasing in number over time...”source ↗
“Not sure this is the correct forum, but any guesses?”source ↗
“Wasn’t sure exactly where to post this. But figured I’d try here first. Decent sized hole being dug under this bush.”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 ↗
“I was going to say racoon but maybe an armadillo?”source ↗
“What could this have been? I was coming out here to pick up sticks and found a large section of my grass dug up.”source ↗
“Doesn’t look like there’s holes, making me think that there’s moles. But it’s all dug up.”source ↗
“I have similar ones and it’s fucking squirrels”source ↗
“I’m in SW Ohio also and I’ve got several holes that look just like that from Squirrels. My Security cameras confirm it was squirrels digging.”source ↗
“Recently found some new holes in the yard.”source ↗
“The hole is easy to put my fist down and I can reach down until the wrist is below the crowns of the grass, feeling a tunnel going two ways.”source ↗
“This is like some tunnelling action down there, too. This is like 8" + deep accessing a tunnel that I can get my fist into.”source ↗
“This hole appeared in the ground next to my mom’s house. She thinks it could be a rabbit burrow, but for some reason it seems to me like it could be something bigger.”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 ↗
“Whatever they are have been causing a bit of havok in the roof space. Not sure if its mice, rats, possums or a combinations of all the above?”source ↗
“Just based on appearance, mice was my initial thought but I wasn't completely sure. Are there any kind of bugs or anything else that make nests like this?”source ↗