There are many holes in this phenomenon
Most questions I receive and answer are about the weather, but a recent question not quite weather-related threw me for a bit of a loop.
Lloyd Gill from St. John’s, N.L. wrote me this note: “This year, for the first time in the 38 winters we have been at our present residence, this was the appearance of our backyard after all the snow had melted,” he said.
He continued: “The holes (in the hundreds, maybe thousands) are about half an inch to three-quarters of an inch in diameter and appear to be just in the grass cover (i.e., no penetration into the soil). Any ideas?”
I’d never seen anything like this before and was eager to dig into just was caused this.
Based on the photo and the description Lloyd provided, it does seem like we can rule out the weather as a direct cause and blame animals or insects. Just what kind, however, remains more of a mystery.
Raccoons, skunks, foxes, and porcupines are known to dig small holes in grass and soil in search of food. But fun fact – Newfoundland has no established raccoon, skunk, or porcupine populations.
Rodents such as mice and rats can also dig holes, but often not as many and deeper into the ground.
There could be some other culprits, including birds in search of food. Groundnesting wasps or bees, earthworms, or invasive leatherjackets that become crane flies could also be suspects, but the holes are often smaller.
We have several leads, but just what happened to Lloyd’s lawn remains somewhat unclear.
If anyone has further insight or information that could benefit Lloyd, feel free to share it with me, and I’ll pass it along.