Holes Dug in the Yard Overnight — What's Doing It?
Not everything that shows up in your yard is the same problem. A scattering of shallow divots, a single wide burrow against the foundation, and a hole under the shed each point to a different animal and a different fix.
Most likely suspects
Armadillos
Most common in West-Central FLCone-shaped divots two to four inches wide scattered across the lawn overnight, sod flipped rather than tunneled, plus a seven- to ten-inch burrow against a slab, deck, shed, or A/C pad.
Armadillo Removal in Tampa Bay →Rats
CommonSmooth two- to three-inch holes with packed, worn entrances near foundations, hedges, or garbage areas, usually with visible runways in the grass.
Rodent Control in Tampa Bay →Snakes
Occupants, not diggersFlorida snakes rarely dig their own holes — they move into abandoned armadillo and rodent burrows, gaps under sheds, and voids under concrete.
Snake Removal in Tampa Bay →The burrow is the part that matters
Nightly lawn digging is cosmetic damage to your turf. A burrow is structural: armadillo tunnels can run fifteen feet and undermine slabs, walkways, pool decks, septic drain fields, and A/C pads. They also leave a ready-made void that rats, snakes, and yellow jackets move into afterward, which is why removing the animal without collapsing the tunnel leaves you with the next problem.
Why they picked your yard
Armadillos are after soil invertebrates — grubs, worms, and beetle larvae. Irrigated Florida lawns with soft, moist, grub-heavy soil get hit repeatedly, and clearing one animal off good feeding ground just opens the spot for another. Long-term control combines burrow closure with buried barrier fencing at decks, sheds, and A/C pads plus grub reduction in the turf.
What doesn't work
In our experience castor-oil granules, mothballs, and ultrasonic devices do not move an armadillo off a productive feeding ground, and backfilling an active burrow just gets it reopened within a night or two. Trapping on the animal's actual travel route, then collapsing and filling the tunnel, is what resolves it.
Common questions
Is it moles?
Moles are uncommon in most of West-Central Florida, and they push up raised tunnel ridges rather than leaving open cone-shaped divots. Scattered surface divots overnight are almost always armadillo.
Can I fill the burrow in myself?
Not while it's active — you may trap the animal underneath, and armadillos typically reopen a backfilled tunnel within a couple of nights. The animal comes out first, then it gets collapsed and filled.
Could a snake be living in it?
It happens often, which is why we check burrows before closing them. If we find a snake we identify and remove it safely rather than seal it in.
Not what you're seeing?
Open 24/7 across Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Hernando, Polk counties. Describe what you're hearing or seeing and we'll tell you what it is.