Lawn Holes & Sand Hills in Florida

Pocket Gopher Mounds

• The southeastern pocket gopher (Geomys pinetis) tunnels under your lawn with chisel-like teeth, pushing sand up through the entrance and resulting in mounds in your yard. Probe a mound with a stick; it may take you some time to find the hole, but that’s because the gopher blocks the entrance to keep out its primary predator, the Florida pine snake. Keep gophers out of your garden by installing underground fence at least 2 feet deep and 6 inches above ground, or trap them. Homeowners do not need a permit to trap or poison pocket gophers on their property, but because the mammal is native to Florida, only poisons registered with the State of Florida can be used legally.

Fire Ant Hills

• The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) is native to South America and an invasive species in Florida. It builds mounds up to 18 inches in diameter, and in colonies with multiple queens, mounds will spring up close together. After identifying non-native fire ants, treat mounds by injecting fire ant insecticide into the mound or by sprinkling bait around the mound and lightly watering it in. Treatment only controls populations and must be ongoing or ants will return in larger numbers. Presently, effective non-chemical controls are not available.

Armadillo Holes

• If you have divots in your lawn a few inches deep and up to 5 inches wide, most likely you’ve been visited by a nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) foraging for earthworms and snails. They dig under patios and uproot flowers. Keep them out of your landscape by installing underground fence extending 18 inches underground and 2 feet above ground, or reduce the amount of irrigation water to your lawn. A moist lawn attracts the armadillos' favorite foods. It is legal to trap armadillos on your property, but illegal to transport them and release them. Call a licensed wildlife control company for that. No repellants are registered in the State of Florida for armadillo control.

Beneficial, Really?

• Though pocket gophers, fire ants and armadillos can be pest, they do have some benefits to the homeowner. Pocket gophers mine sand to the surface that is high in nutrients that have leached below the surface. Use it to side dress ornamentals or in or a vegetable garden. Fire ants benefit pets by eating flea larvae and ticks found in your lawn. Armadillos might dig holes in your lawn, but if the damage is minimal, it might not seem so bad knowing they eat cockroaches, ants and armyworms that devour Bermuda grass.