Who's in your yard?
Sometimes the clue points straight at a suspect. These profiles cover the animals American homeowners find evidence of most — the signs each one leaves, the animals they're confused with, and what to do about them. Every profile links back to the specific clues that animal causes.
Deer Deer leave ragged, torn stem ends — they have no upper front teeth, so they rip vegetation rather than cut it — with damage starting around 2 feet high and reaching 6 feet. Confirm with heart-shaped split-hoof tracks and piles of oval pellets. Rabbits working the same garden make clean 45-degree scissor cuts down near the ground, so the cut height and edge tell you which one you have. See the signs → Moles The two telltale signs of moles are volcano-shaped mounds of fluffy soil with no visible entry hole, and raised ridges of turf that feel soft when you step on them. Moles are insect-eaters, not plant-eaters — so if something is also chewing your plants, you're likely dealing with voles or another animal instead. See the signs → Raccoons The telltale raccoon signs are chunks of sod flipped or rolled back overnight (they peel turf to reach grubs), five-toed tracks that look like tiny human hands, and tubular droppings concentrated in repeat-use latrine spots. Skunks digging for the same grubs leave small cone-shaped holes instead of rolled turf — if your sod is peeled back in flaps, think raccoon. See the signs → Rats Classic rat signs are smooth, worn burrow openings 2–3 inches across near foundations, decks, and sheds; dark greasy rub marks along walls and pipes; fresh gnaw marks on wood and plastic; and capsule-shaped droppings 1/2–3/4 inch long. Rats work at night — daytime digging and sightings point to chipmunks or squirrels instead. See the signs → Skunks The classic skunk signs are shallow, cone-shaped holes 3–4 inches across that appear in the lawn overnight (grub digging), patches of sod rolled or flipped back, a musky odor that lingers near a deck or shed, and a 6–8 inch den opening under a structure. Raccoons cause similar grub damage but roll sod in large sloppy sections; skunks drill many small, tidy cones. See the signs → Squirrels Squirrel signs are shallow, golf-ball-size digging divots scattered across the lawn (nut caching), stripped bark on branches, emptied bird feeders, and — the expensive one — daytime scurrying or gnawing sounds at the roofline. Squirrels work in daylight; the same signs at night point to rats. See the signs → Voles The telltale signs of voles are narrow runways chewed through the grass at the surface, small open holes about 1–1.5 inches across with no mound of soil, and bark gnawed from the base of trees and shrubs. Unlike moles, voles eat plants — bulbs, roots, stems, and bark — and they travel on the surface, not in raised tunnels. See the signs → Armadillos The classic armadillo sign is dozens of shallow, cone-shaped holes 1–3 inches deep and wide punched across the lawn overnight — each one a snout-poke after grubs and worms. Add a smooth-sided burrow entrance 7–8 inches across near a stump, brush pile, or foundation and you've confirmed it. Skunks make similar grub holes, but skunks never dig big burrow entrances like that, and armadillo damage arrives in far greater numbers per night. See the signs → Chipmunks The classic chipmunk sign is a clean, round hole about 2 inches across with no mound or scattered soil around it — chipmunks carry the excavated dirt away in their cheek pouches and dump it elsewhere. Look for these tidy holes along foundations, retaining walls, walkways, and tree bases; a similar-sized hole with a worn, greasy look and a dirt kick-out is more likely a rat burrow. See the signs → Gophers The signature signs of pocket gophers are fan- or crescent-shaped mounds of soil with a visible dirt plug off to one side, and plants that wilt or disappear as if pulled underground — because they were. Mole mounds, by contrast, are symmetric volcano cones with no plug, and moles never eat plants. See the signs → Groundhogs The signature groundhog sign is a burrow entrance 10–12 inches across with a large fan of excavated dirt spread in front of it, usually paired with one or more cleaner secondary exits nearby. Skunks and rabbits use burrows too, but they don't dig anything this large — a hole you could fit a volleyball into, with a wheelbarrow-load of soil outside, is groundhog work. See the signs → Mice The classic mouse signs are tiny droppings about 1/4 inch long with pointed ends, a stale musky smell in enclosed spaces, shredded paper or insulation gathered into nests, and light scratching in walls at night. Rat sign is the same story at twice the scale; outdoors-only trail damage in the grass points to voles instead. See the signs → Opossums The giveaway opossum sign is the hind track: five toes with the inner one splayed out sideways like a human thumb — no other US yard animal leaves it. Opossums borrow existing dens rather than dig, so you'll find one under a deck or in an old groundhog burrow, not behind fresh excavation. Unlike raccoons, they rarely tear up turf or pry open trash, and they're largely beneficial — a single opossum eats thousands of ticks a season. See the signs → Rabbits Rabbit damage is tidy: stems and seedlings clipped off at a clean 45-degree angle, as if by pruning shears, and never much higher than a pencil standing on end. Add small piles of round, pea-size pellets and you've confirmed rabbits. Deer browsing the same plants leaves ragged, torn edges and reaches two feet and higher — the cut tells you the culprit. See the signs →
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