What sort of creature is digging up a Walnut Creek front lawn?
DEAR JOAN >> I was wondering if moles and gophers can get into the lawn.
A few weeks back, I went outside and there were dug-up patches on my front lawn as if someone took a shovel, dug up portions of lawn and just left it there.
Was this a mole or gopher? Or maybe a raccoon?
No one else on my court had this happen, and it hasn’t happened since, so far. — Diane, Walnut Creek
DEAR DIANE >> Yes, moles and gophers will most certainly get into your front lawn. For one, most lawns are easier to tunnel through than sun-baked bare ground. The lawn also provides a wealth of food for the animals — plant roots for the gophers and insects for the moles.
They dig entrance and exit holes for their underground tunnels, but as far as I know, they do not randomly tear up patches of your lawn. You’d also see evidence of tunneling if you had visiting gophers or moles.
It could have been a raccoon or a skunk. They both will dig into lawns in search of grubs. Raccoons do the most damage and will actually roll back your sod in their quest. Skunks are more likely to dig small clumps out of the grass.
As the grubs they seek have started their autumn journey deeper into the soil, where they’ll spend the winter, I wouldn’t think you’ll have any more issues until the spring.
You can improve your chances of avoiding lawn damage by taking a good look at your lawn care practices. Lawns with deep roots are harder to tear out, so you should have a regular fertilization schedule, and make sure you are applying the right amount of water. You probably want to aerate your lawn and in the spring apply beneficial nematodes, which will kill the grubs.
Other methods of keeping the animals out can get pretty dramatic, including covering your lawn each night with chicken wire or netting, pinned tightly against the lawn to prevent animals from getting trapped in it.
DEAR JOAN >> A bird has made a nest under my (roof) overhang and in the metal part of my DirectTV dish. It has been there for almost 3 months now.
It seems like the bird never moves, but I have seen another one fly in and out. I wanted to check on the one that always sits there but do not want to disturb it, either.
How long do you think it will remain there? Should I check on it? — Kevin Temple, Bay Area
DEAR KEVIN >> That’s a very long time for a bird to sit on a nest, unless she is having multiple broods — or her eggs didn’t hatch and she’s refusing to accept it.
Mourning doves, for instance, usually lay just two eggs, but after the babies hatch and leave the nest, they often immediately start another family.
People don’t think the mourning dove ever leaves the nest, because the bird is there every time they look, but both mom and dad take turns sitting on the eggs, and we often miss the shift change.
Sometimes younger birds will sit on unproductive nests, not realizing their eggs just aren’t going to hatch — but three months? I don’t think so.
Checking on the bird probably won’t hurt, but I’m not certain it will help. Nesting season is over for most birds, so this one should be leaving soon.