Animals in the wild are fascinating. Watching a rabbit hop across your backyard or a deer grazing just at the edge of the woods is a relaxing sight. On the other hand, finding a recently dug hole under your shed or patio can cause uneasiness.
You know that you have a potential problem. How much of a problem depends on the animal that dug the hole and any animals or reptiles that may choose to inhabit the hole once the original critter abandons it.
Identifying who made the hole, removing the animal or reptile, and making sure the hole is filled to prevent re-infestation is best left to a wildlife removal company.
A wildlife removal service knows exactly what to do with unwanted critters so that you don’t have to take a risk.
Some hole inhabitants are venomous or aggressive and can cause great bodily harm, disease and even death.
Types of Property Invaders
There are a host of animals that make holes or burrows. They include, but aren’t limited to, mice, rats, squirrels, packrats, skunks, gophers, tarantulas, and snakes.1
Each backyard invader has a slightly different look to the outside of their hole or burrow. If the burrow is 8 inches round, it may be home to a skunk. Usually skunks burrow under foundations, patios and other structures.2 There may be a slight odor around the skunk hole and divots in grassy areas around the hole. The divots are where the skunk is digging for its dinner – grubs and other insects.
Moles also look for insects and grubs in grassy areas. They make extensive tunnels, raising the soil or grass and they dig holes shaped like volcanoes, with tunnel entrances the size of a quarter.3
Chipmunks, like moles, leave shallow holes in grassy areas where they look for food. They also burrow using an extensive system of tunnels whose entrances are about an inch round.4
Critters with Risk
While skunks, moles, and chipmunks can destroy landscaping, they are more of a nuisance than a threat to humans and pets. There are some hole inhabitants that do pose a significant threat.
These include tarantulas, rattlesnakes, and rats, to name a few of the more threatening occupants of holes in your yard. Tarantulas usually make holes the size of a quarter and these holes are lined with silk, so there is often some silk appearing as gauzy webbing at the entrance of the hole.5
Snakes usually will take over a burrow made by another animal as a snake generally doesn’t have the ability to dig its own hole.
Identifying a Rat Problem
Rats tend to live where there is readily available food and water and they like sandy soil, which is why your backyard is the ideal place to burrow, especially if you have a water feature or garden. If you see partially eaten produce in the garden and find holes that are two to four inches in diameter, you might have a rat issue.6
Rat burrows have entrances that are two to four inches in diameter with a smooth tunnel-like opening with excavated soil spread out in a fan shape around the hole. Exit holes will be located nearby. Rats have their young in burrows and they multiply quickly, as a rat can have 18 babies in a single birth and those babies can start having their own babies within six to twelve weeks!7
Many animal holes look the same, so it is difficult to determine which animal is inhabiting a specific hole. Identifying a hole’s occupant is further complicated because often when a burrow or hole is empty for a length of time another animal or reptile may inhabit that burrow so the common identifying characteristics of the hole may not apply.
Be Proactive
One thing is certain. You shouldn’t just ignore a hole in your yard because it could harbor a significant threat to your family, including pets. A wildlife removal specialist can not only identify the inhabitant of the hole and eliminate the threat, but can advise you on how to prevent further infestations.
Worry-Free Wildlife Removal Services
If you are looking for a reliable solution to unwanted wildlife and critters on your property, Critter Evictors in Scottdale is the solution. We provide effective and humane wildlife removal services that are top rated and preferred throughout Maricopa County.
We are always available to help restore safety and peace to your home and business. Call for a Free Inspection!
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1, 5 How to Figure Out What’s Lurking in Your Arizona Backyard, 2/18/2025
Link: https://allhitskzmk.com/holes-arizona-back-yard
2 What Animal is Digging Holes in My Yard? 9 Types of Bothersome Burrowers by Nicole Fallon-Peek and Evelyn Auer, 1/21/2-24
Link: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/what-animal-is-digging-holes-in-my-yard/
3, 4 How to Tell Which Animal is Digging Holes in Your Yard by Elizabeth Yuko, 4/25/2022
Link: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-tell-which-animal-is-digging-holes-in-your-yard-1848832335
6 Holes in Your Yard? How to Tell If Rats are to Blame — and How to Get Rid of Them Fast by Barbara Gillette, 6/2025
Link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/home-and-garden/holes-in-your-yard-how-to-tell-if-rats-are-to-blame-and-how-to-get-rid-of-them-fast/ar-AA1HCZ1t?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&c
7 Rat Reproduction and Breeding: How Rats Mate by Julia Mihai, DVM
Link: https://misfitanimals.com/rats/rat-reproduction-and-breeding/#:~:text=Rats