# How to stop birds and dogs digging up a lawn **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2017, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770 "2017-05-31T13:20:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/1 "2017-05-31T13:20:58Z")
I play croquet, and we have the use of a lawn, which is very nice. Unfortunately we have to start each session by filling in holes made by various critters. We suspect seagulls and a fox. Is there something we can put down to discourage them? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/2 "2017-05-31T14:28:23Z")
Cayenne Pepper ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/3 "2017-05-31T14:31:53Z")
Won’t work for birds: they can’t taste capsaicins. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/4 "2017-05-31T15:09:17Z")
Maybe [castor bean oil](https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/animals/treating-pests-with-castor-oil.htm) ? I have used castor oil many times on gardens (etc) to keep critters (mainly moles and 'coons) out of my garden(s) and to push moles out of yard with good success. Not very expensive, but you have to re-apply occasionally. all you need is a water hose and a sprayer, though it sometimes comes in a bottle you just hook a water hose to. No harm to the wildlife, just something they do not want to be around. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/5 "2017-05-31T16:46:54Z")
I don’t think you will deter the animals from a food source, you need to get rid of the food they are after. Here in Oregon I have crane fly larva in the lawn and the starlings and raccoons tear many, many little tufts of sod out of the lawn to get at them. Crane flies are those things that look like giant mosquitoes. Their larvae can infest a lawn with many hundreds or thousands and the birds and other animals find a rich source of food in the late winter and early spring before other sources of feed are available. From this article of a few years ago I see that Scotland has the problem too. Looks like they call the grubs leatherjackets over there. > **[Grasslands under attack from record number of crane fly larvae](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-27206796)** > > Parks and golf courses across Scotland could be devastated by record amounts of leatherjacket larvae which feed on the roots of grass and plants. If this is your problem you can treat the lawn with pesticide to kill them off. No food, no holes. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/6 "2017-05-31T18:17:30Z")
Yup, the only way is to kill the grubs, but its not leatherjackets, its Chafer Beetle Larvae. They are a superb food source for many critturs, the real damage comes from their need to eat roots of pretty much anything, but especially grass. The grass becomes stressed and dies off in patches, it cannot resist drought or frost too well - the extra damage that birds and foxes etc do is merely scraping aside a thin grassy covering to reveal the bare earth - the real damage is already done. Lots of chemicals you can use, or you can buy nemotades if you wish to stay organic ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/7 "2017-08-15T21:51:32Z")
The sward is still being damaged. Here are two albums of the damage [[Album] Torry ![](https://i.imgur.com/RkTxTvr.jpeg?fb "Torry") ](https://imgur.com/a/jQslx) [[Album] Torry Bowling Green ![](https://i.imgur.com/wTx1xAY.jpeg?fb "Torry Bowling Green") ](https://imgur.com/a/z9KZD) The shoes visible are mine - UK size 14. Interestingly the other green is untouched. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/8 "2017-08-16T19:02:12Z")
Convert to golf and stick a flag in the deeper holes. Play the others as a hazard. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/9 "2017-08-16T19:09:24Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > Maybe [castor bean oil](https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/animals/treating-pests-with-castor-oil.htm) ? Why stop half way? Liberally dust the yard with ricin. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-stop-birds-and-dogs-digging-up-a-lawn/787770/10 "2017-08-16T19:40:31Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Why stop half way? Liberally dust the yard with ricin. I like your style, sirrah!