Lawns and some of creatures that invade them

Ask anyone that has a lawn what the number pests and they will answer you moles and gophers. While they would be right that between those pest, that sometimes get lumped together, they can make a terrible mess of your yard both above and below ground. There are several varieties of both moles and gophers but which ever ones you have it all comes down to the same thing that dig tunnels in your lawn making look as though you just planted a mine field. The big question on everyone's mind once they realize they have one of these burrowing animals is "How do I get rid of them?". Sadly not that much. There have been many folk remedies and commercial products that say that they will get rid of all the furry little creatures but the truth is that most don't do anything but perhaps make the moles and gophers laugh. There are though two ways that are pretty well effective and they are: 1. Get rid of their food source, which isn't always practical. 2. Trap the fuzzy little critters. There is one big problem with the trap idea and that is that we voted against using them. So, that pretty much just leaves getting rid of the food source that consist of grub, worms, and vegetation. Using a good weed & feed combine with an insecticide is a good place to start but if you have small children or pest you need to really be careful to not get something harmful to them. There are more companies every year that are making products that are less harmful to our pets and children. Of course if that isn't the way you wish to go there are more natural alternatives, such as, beneficial insects that will attack the pests or repellents, that aren't always that effective, that you sprinkle down the holes and then bury the holes back up.

If you do get that problem under control then there is another creature that most people don't think of and that is racoons. Racoons will come out at night and search your lawn for any tasty little morsel they can get their claws on. They will dig holes to get down to the roots of your lawn to try and find insects and they will pull up your fresh sod. Most people that see the damage usually think it was the dog digging in the yard again and not that it could be a raccoon. There are some good repellents if you do have this problem.