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Animal who digged this hole?

HelenDrrL1HelenDrrL1 Posts: 20
in Plants


Hi, may I know if you have the same experience?

In my garden, I grew some vegetables in pots. This is Nth time my plants had been attacked. The diggers are fan of over 30cm pot diameter size. After midnight, they came out. The next day, I will see plants are damaged and there are holes. The holes are about 6-7 cm wide and 5cm deep. What animal(s) could this possibly be please? The attached plants are mainly mangetout and young raddish, rarely it will be tomato plants. The animals come out at dark and dig holes so the soil will cover the plant sides they were not digging. They are not afraid the smell of garlic or fresh chilli. They do at raining nights as well as dry nights. 




And you have any suggestions to let them away from the pot please?
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  • hulmephilhulmephil Posts: 3
    It could be one of my friends, the grey squirrel, which is pretty smart. They dig holes of about this size to bury nuts/other and later on re-dig holes to retrieve same. I've tried covering ground areas with mesh, but not always best idea. To protect individual plants, best idea I've had is to make cane offcuts about a foot long and push them half in the ground, fairly close, in a circle around the plant. The squirrel then tends to dig in other places.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 11,421
    I don't know if a squirrel would dig at night though. I'm reluctant to say it, but could it be a rat ?

  • HelenDrrL1HelenDrrL1 Posts: 20
    hulmephil said:
    It could be one of my friends, the grey squirrel, which is pretty smart. They dig holes of about this size to bury nuts/other and later on re-dig holes to retrieve same. I've tried covering ground areas with mesh, but not always best idea. To protect individual plants, best idea I've had is to make cane offcuts about a foot long and push them half in the ground, fairly close, in a circle around the plant. The squirrel then tends to dig in other places.                                                   


    Ok, I will have a look if there is nuts in there. Thank you so much. 
  • HelenDrrL1HelenDrrL1 Posts: 20
    AnniD said:
    I don't know if a squirrel would dig at night though. I'm reluctant to say it, but could it be a rat ?

    Oh, I will flush the burrow, and what to repel rat please?
  • pinutpinut Posts: 115
    My best guess would be either a squirrel, an urban fox or a cat. In some instances, it may be a rat but I find they're more likely to target the bin areas for high calorie junk foods.

    Scent mark the outside of your pots - by scent marking, I mean spray a few drops of your own urine onto the pots (no, you don't need to squat down, just collect a sample in a bottle instead).

    This marks it as your territory which animals such as urban foxes, cats and dogs will understand. If you no longer get the holes after doing this then it would most likely be a rat or probably a squirrel.

    OP, your original question was perfectly comprehensible but please use the word "dug" for the past tense of "dig" in case you need to ask similar questions again.

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 11,421
    You can buy various rat poisons but l would try your best to confirm what exactly is digging before using any. Try @pinut 's suggestion (anything is worth a try before using poison !).
    It could equally be a fox or a cat, although if a cat you would probably find evidence 💩

    Do you know anyone who has a trailcam (night camera) that you could borrow for a night or two to give you a positive identification? 
  • HelenDrrL1HelenDrrL1 Posts: 20
    pinut said:
    My best guess would be either a squirrel, an urban fox or a cat. In some instances, it may be a rat but I find they're more likely to target the bin areas for high calorie junk foods.

    Scent mark the outside of your pots - by scent marking, I mean spray a few drops of your own urine onto the pots (no, you don't need to squat down, just collect a sample in a bottle instead).

    This marks it as your territory which animals such as urban foxes, cats and dogs will understand. If you no longer get the holes after doing this then it would most likely be a rat or probably a squirrel.

    OP, your original question was perfectly comprehensible but please use the word "dug" for the past tense of "dig" in case you need to ask similar questions again.

    Oh, Thank you. I didnot know for dug and diggest. I try
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,399
    Could it be a hedgehog looking for worms? 
  • HelenDrrL1HelenDrrL1 Posts: 20
    Red maple said:
    Helen, well done for trying - English is a complicated language, that even native speakers can get wrong, so don’t worry. Your meaning is clear, anyway  :).
    I do hope that you identify the culprit that is digging the holes. As AnniD suggests, if you have or can borrow a trailcam, that might show you what is doing the damage.
    Oh, absolutely. I will have a look
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