My yard looks like a war zone with thousands of little mortar shell divots. The squirrels have taken advantage of my wet, soggy back yard and have dug holes in nearly every square foot, burying seeds and nuts and probably squirrel time capsules.The climbing tree rats have also dislodged the soil from each and every one of Nancy’s potted plants
Squirrels are born to chew, and they are born to dig – the digging instinct is to store things which they may or may not ever find again. I doubt that any of the 10,000 sunflower seeds they have planted this winter will ever be found and eaten, but I know from experience that come spring, my yard will be filled with sprouting sunflower stalks.
I discovered recently that snowbirds are attracted to yards like mine because when the squirrels dig, they also uproot insects and grubs and other goodies that snowbirds relish, so I suppose squirrels are useful in that regard.
I only wish I could train the squirrels to dig up and plow my garden – that is before I plant, not after.