On Tuesday, October 9, 2012 8:15:11 AM UTC-4, Frank wrote:
On 10/8/2012 5:09 PM, Dave wrote:

On Monday, October 8, 2012 7:55:05 AM UTC-4, Pat Kiewicz wrote:

Dave said:







Here are some pictures - I tried to post them earlier but a Comcast problem interfered.



http://home.comcast.net/~dg_moore/la...awndamage.html







Very typical of skunks digging for grubs and worms. (Racoons are another possible



culprit, but skunks would be my primary suspect.) This time of year they are working



hard to fatten up, doubly so as they probably had a tough time of it over the summer.



They tend to avoid thick, uniform stands of turf and concentrate on areas where the turf



is thinning, patchy or otherwise varied.







--



Pat in Plymouth MI







"Yes, swooping is bad."







email valid but not regularly monitored



Interesting - we do smell skunks around here regularly, but I haven't actually seen any. Wonder how to deal with them, if the culprit turns out to be skunks. Maybe if I catch them in the act I could run toward them, yelling and waving my arms? I don't see how that could go wrong...





As Pat points out, skunks are fearless. You back off, not them.

You can actually catch them in a Hav-a-hart trap and dispose of them if

you have the nerve. You throw a tarp over the trapped skunk and haul it

away and release it by opening the trap from a distance.



From discussion, I suspect dogs. I have not seen that much lawn damage

from skunks and other critters.

Interesting discussion. I still don't know what, if anything, I can do about this. I think I'll set up a motion activated camera and see if I can catch anybody in the act.

Thanks to all!
Dave