Can I Use Topsoil To Fill In Holes In My Yard
Topsoil is typically used to build these areas up. Some homeowners want to simply fill in some holes and simply lay sod or plant grass seed. … Good Drainage Topsoil can be added to your yard or property that tends to maintain water. Adding topsoil to these areas can help with those drainage problems.
How To Tell If Lawn Pests Have Made Their Way Onto Your Phoenix Az Property
If gophers or moles have come into your yard, youre likely to know it. These lawn pests can cause patches of dead grass, create raised tunnels, and large mounds of dirt, all of which can make your lawn an unsightly mess. Today, were going to talk about how you can tell which of these two pests you have, what is important to know about them, and what other lawn pests can make you think you have a gopher or a mole.
What Will Keep Armadillos Away From Your Yard
If youve now identified that you have an armadillo problem on your hands, your next question may be what will keep armadillos away? Well, were going to talk about that below!
However, before doing any of the following on your own, we always highly recommend contacting a professional before dealing with an armadillo on your own.
Do not touch the armadillo as its skin may spread germs that require medical attention. Further, armadillos can get very defensive with a human especially if they are scared, so hiring a professional is the best way to guarantee your and the armadillos safety.
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Mow The Grass Around The Holes
Fixing holes in your lawn is going to involve some reseeding. Before you can lay seed in the spot your dog explored, youll need to make sure that the surrounding area is as level as possible.
Start by mowing the grass around the edges of the holes. Mowing the grass around the holes will help the patched area of grass look less noticeable as the new growth starts to fill in.
This is also the time to remove any weeds, dead overgrowth, big rocks, or other lawn debris from the area.
Finding Burrows In Your Yard Can Mean You Have Armadillos
One of the obvious signs that you have an armadillo in your yard is if you see burrows, and lots of them!
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, an armadillo digs burrows 8 inches in diameter, ranging from two to 25 feet long, AND there can be as many as 15 separate ones in one surrounding area!
So, were not talking here just one burrow. If you notice multiple burrows in one area theres a very high chance that you have an armadillo in your yard.
Armadillos go into their burrows when temperatures are either too hot, or too cold. These mammals really like consistency, so their burrows are made to help them to maintain their temperature and keep them safe from the environmental changes.
In their burrow, an armadillo relaxes, sleeps, and if theyre not nesting, they typically are in the burrow alone.
Armadillos build these burrows with their own two hands literally. Armadillos have short legs with clawsfour toes on the front and five on the back legs.
An armadillos claws are used for digging to create burrows and foraging for food.
The burrows have an interesting architectural design as well, because they will have multiple entrances and exits to get back up to ground level, but they typically only use one of the entrances to go back and forth.
If youd like to learn more about the specifics that draw armadillos to your property, take a look at our piece on the reasons why armadillos are in your yard its a doozy!
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Smelling An Unpleasant Scent In Your Yard May Mean You Have An Armadillo
Speaking of sense of smell, if you have found a very foul smell in your yard, actually somewhat of a fishy smell, theres a good chance that you have an armadillo in your yard, and it may have marked its territory.
According to a journal article in the National Library of Medicine, armadillos have a mucus-secreting gland in the submucous of their bottom portion. They produce a rather foul smell when scared, excited, or when using these secretions to mark their territory
Armadillos do not spray like skunks, moreover, they secrete a strong smell that smells offensive to humans. However, the smell may attract more armadillos and insects.
How To Repair A Thin Lawn By Overseeding
If the turf has been damaged by pet urine, it will resemble a patch of straw in the center with a dark green ring around the outside. The urine acts much like a fertilizer burn. Ohio State University scientists recommend watering the area to dilute the concentration of urine. If you are able to keep pets off the lawn, the grass can be reseeded.
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Plant The Right Sod Or Seed
At this point, youve already filled the hole in your lawn. However, the area isnt uniform with the rest of your yard. So, youll need to plant some sod or seeds around the area. When buying the seeds, ensure they are of the same species as the grass in your area. This will give your lawn a uniform and consistent appearance in color and texture when patching a hole in your lawn. You can find the appropriate seeds at our Ellicott City and Columbia garden centers!
Seeding by hand doesnt require any special equipment. You just need to shake or sling the seeds evenly around the area. Lightly sprinkle sand around the area to cover the seeds and prevent erosion and seed movement. Make sure the seeds are not deeper than ¼ inch.
Mole* & Gopher Bait Controls
Pelleted bait products, such as Amdro Mole* & Gopher Bait, work when the targeted animal eats the bait and dies. Baits should be manually inserted into below-ground tunnels via the pests entry hole or through an excavated opening into tunnels or feeding ridges.
How to use Amdro Mole* & Gopher Bait:
- Locate the entry holes to gopher mounds and molehills, and locate underground tunnels or raised feeding runs.
- Remove the side plug from the crescent-shaped gopher mound or the center plug from the conical mole hill. For tunnels and runways, carefully create an opening, taking care not to drop soil into the run.
- Use a long-handled spoon, dedicated to this use, to place 1 teaspoon of Amdro Mole* & Gopher Bait in each entry hole or runway opening.
- Close the opening with a rock or sod, being careful not to cover the bait with soil. Repeat only if activity recurs.
When animal pests strike, put a quick end to the madness and save your lawn from damage. Identify the pest behind your lawn problems, act quickly and partner with effective solutions from the Amdro line of animal control products. Repair bare spots and reclaim your lawn with the help of Pennington One Step Complete combination mulch, seed and fertilizer, and your lawn will soon be looking great again.
*Not for use on moles in CA, IN or NC
Amdro is a registered trademark of Central Garden & Pet Company. Pennington One Step Complete is a registered trademark of Pennington Seed, Inc.
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Filling Holes In A Yard By Hand
The best approach for fixing one or two holes in the yard created by a dog or child is to simply backfill dirt into the hole by hand. Rake as much of the scattered soil as possible into the crevice. Buy soil to fill the hole and press it down firmly to ensure the new soil is level with the old soil. Add a little more soil than seems necessary and spread it out over the edges of the hole so that it does not form a low spot as it settles.
According to Bio Advanced, ruts can be rescued by using a flat shovel to pry the sunken grass up and adding more soil underneath. Use a shovel to cut the grass ruts into 1-foot squares before lifting them up and setting them aside. You can either till the existing exposed soil to decompress it and/or add new soil to bring up the height to about 1 inch above the surrounding soil line. Place the grass squares back into position and walk on them to help the new soil settle quickly.
Use Predators To Deter Armadillos
An unbelievable fact about armadillos and their bodies is that their shell or armor allows them to run through thorny brush, and escape from predators with ease.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources armadillos have many larger predators such as dogs, lions, coyotes, black bears, raptors and well, humans.
However, if they see or better yet, smell a predator, theres a very high chance that they will not come near the predator and go in the opposite direction.
You can add predators by adding decoys to your outdoor space, like this Lone Howler Coyote Decoy. However, keep in mind that since an armadillos eyesight isnt that great, keeping the coyote close to brush, shrubbery, and in loose soil will put it in an armadillos line of sight and scare them away.
Another predator to add into the space can actually be a scarecrow! This Vocheer 2 Pack of Scarecrows With Stands is a great way to add a human looking predator that armadillos will surely stay away from.
Scarecrows are a great option because they stand tall and can be seen from further distances. Although an armadillos eyesight isnt too keen, they will be able to make out that a large blurry blob is lurking and will stay away.
As an added bonus, it will hopefully scare the crows away too! Here are some other ways to scare crows away.
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Apply Putty To Fill A Nail Hole
The usual putty-application procedure involves simply rubbing your finger over the hole. But if you’ve installed several rooms full of trim, you can easily rub your fingertip raw before completing the job. Also, your finger can slightly dip into the hole, creating a slight depression. Use an ordinary kitchen spatula as a solution. It’s firm enough to wipe away excess putty and leave a smooth surface. It also conforms to curved surfaces, speeding your work.
Cons Of Having Armadillos In Your Yard
Although there are a few pros to having armadillos around, unfortunately, there are more consand its very important to keep them away if youre having an armadillo infestation.
Armadillos can be aggressive towards humans and can also carry a lot of germs. We suggest that if youre having a problem, contact professional help immediately.
Firstly, armadillos will destroy your lawns and gardens because of their hole-digging instinct, and burrowing patterns. Armadillos dig because they eat the insects underground while also feasting on your plant bulbs.
Armadillos also eat other things like fruits and vegetables, especially root vegetables like beets, parsnips, turnips, and carrots. If food is scarce, they will eat lizards, small frogs, snakes, and eggs.
Further, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation, armadillos often burrow in wooded land, areas with a lot of brush, near log piles where there is sufficient ground cover, and in loose soil.
The reason this becomes a problem is because oftentimes, your yard may be attracting them without realizing and when it does they will dig up your yard, and gardens to find what they came for!
Although armadillos have some tell-tale signs of being around, they can be quite hard to find because theyre nocturnal and were here today to share with you the signs of armadillos in your yard and how to find them!
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What Is A Dry Well For Drainage
A dry well is a covered hole filled with gravel or similar material. It serves as an endpoint for your drainage system. Water is directed to the dry well, where it filters down through the gravel and is distributed deep into the soil. … A dry well is a great termination point for your French drain.
Why Are Gophers On My Property
Your soil is just their type. Moisture is crucial to gophers, as is a high concentration of clay. Sandy soil may deter them from excavating a home due to the potential for a cave-in and a lack of insulation from extreme temperatures. This means that they will likely seek out the preferred amount of clay and water when looking for a place to build a burrow. In an attempt to find moisture, gophers sometimes bite into irrigation pipes.
The climate is their sweet spot. Much of the United States is hospitable territory to gophers. If you live in the western two-thirds of America or certain states in the Southeast , one or more of 10 different gopher species are part of the landscape.
utilities and pipes
Crops and Gardens
A single gopher can inflict major damage on the plants and fruits in a garden within a brief time. If youre dealing with more than one gopher, an even larger area could be affected.
Potential Damage to Agricultural Equipment
The soil tilled up by gophers can damage or break parts of farming machinery as it passes over mounds of churned-up earth. In fact, horseshoe-shaped mounds of dirt are indicators of gopher activity nearby.
Underground Utilities and Pipes
Gophers may gnaw into utility cables, sprinkler systems, and plastic water lines to maintain their rapidly-growing teeth or to get a drink from your water supply. This is a more difficult kind of impact to assess because it is hidden from view.
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An Armadillo Will Leave Nose Prints In Your Loose Soil
Another sign that an armadillo is around is finding nose prints in your loose soil and were not talking human noses, were talking the long snout they use to find food underground.
Sometimes, these prints in your soil can look like you took the back end of a broom, or shovel, and dragged it across the soil, as thats kind of what an armadillos nose looks like!
According to the National Wildlife Federation, armadillos have a keen sense of smell and they use it to track down up to 500 different foods!
However, knowing this shows how strong of a scent armadillos have, and they really use it for everything. With that, if youre noticing weird looking indents within your soil that seem to follow a trail, you really could have an armadillo in your yard.
Armadillos have very poor eyesight, so they use their nose and sense of smell primarily for everything.
Interestingly, an armadillo is born without cones in their eyes that help detect light, however, they have rods that are light-receptive. Thus, light is extremely sensitive to them.
How To Patch A Hole In Your Lawn The Right Way
Lawns are common and essential features of public landscapes, private gardens, and parks. They offer aesthetic pleasure and are ideal for sports and other outdoor recreational use. Furthermore, a healthy lawn has numerous environmental benefits, such as preventing wind and water erosion, improving flood control, and providing a cooling effect, especially during summer.
But sometimes, holes and patches are inevitable, even in a well-maintained yard. Uneven lawns often stem from heavy foot traffic, wet soil, and kids & pet activities, among other factors. This creates a safety hazard for walking, mowing and playing.
Fortunately, there are various ways to fix holes in your lawn. Heres a complete guide to patching a hole in your yard the right way.
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How To Fix Gopher Holes
Ah, gopher holesevery homeowners worst nightmare. If you take lawn care seriously, you may notice these holes all over your yard.
You might first notice small mounds of dirt, shaped like a crescent, around your yard and garden. You might stumble, sinking to the ankle in a well-concealed hole. You may see little critters running through your yard or the edges of your garden. Or you may notice plants that show the telltale signs of being chewed by rodents. They all mean the same thinggophers.
Many homeowners discover that gophers are damaging their landscaping and wreaking havoc on their carefully cultivated gardens. Its a common problem, but one that needs to be solved before your garden deteriorates or someone gets hurt.
Today, were covering everything you need to know about gopher holes and how to fix them.
How To Repair Thinning / Patchy Grass
Overseed thinning / patchy grass
When your lawn patches appear you can rescue the section by overseeding. To get the best results carry out overseeding when conditions are at optimum, between April September.
Follow these easy steps to overseed patches:
Mow your lawn before repairing the patches, as you won’t be able to while the new seedlings establish.
Rake away any clippings, stones or debris from the patchy section and to loosen the soil
Use a quick release fertiliser to speed up the growth of the new grass, applying at a rate of 70g per m2 and watering in until dissolved
Once dissolved, overseed the area at a rate of 35g per m2
Water the area daily for the first six weeks after sowing – if there is prolonged rainfall you can avoid doing this
The quick release fertiliser will give the damaged grass the quick boost it needs in preparation for reseeding which will then help your lawn grow faster and fill out quickly. To avoid grass blade burning apply fertiliser evenly on an overcast day or in the evening when its not too hot. Ensure you water in the fertiliser after application to activate it.
Fertilise to thicken thinning grass:
If your grass is thinning slightly, you may be able to thicken it up with a fast acting nitrogen rich fertiliser. Whilst nitrogen also helps to make your grass greener, it can also help strengthen the roots of your current grass. However, if the area is particularly ‘bald’ a reseed will be more efficient.
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