Unfairly singled out

Crows, along with raccoons and skunks, love to dig up and dine on European chafer beetle grubs — and continue to ruin lawns in the process.

“Crows are doing their share of digging up the turf looking for the grubs,” said Brian Quinn, operations manager for the Vancouver park board, adding that it’s a problem that makes some turf areas “unsightly” and presents maintenance challenges.

B.C. Field Ornithologists president George Clulow said while crows are usually caught in the act during the day, nocturnal raccoons and skunks are likely doing most of the damage during the night.“I think we should thank the crows because they’re eating the pests,” he said. “There’s the night shift which is doing a lot of damage and the day shift is picking up the work and trying to help us humans control the pest.”