Pests Plumbing Safety Seasonal Structure Disaster Warranty Skunks and Raccoons Skunks probe the soil with their noses when looking for food, uprooting small areas of turf.
Raccoons pull up the turf with their front paws as they search for food.
A favorite food of both of these animals is white grubs, but their digging in a lawn does not necessarily mean grubs are present. Skunks and raccoons will also feed on insects and worms other than white grubs. It is not environmentally sound to apply an insecticide to stop animals from foraging in a lawn. If grubs are not present, applying insecticide will have no effect on animal activity, and they will continue to tear up the lawn in search of food. Trapping raccoons and skunks with live animal traps is the only way to remove unwanted animals from the area.