Question

Just discovered the night noises heard in garden and large prints is in fact a badger, know we know why lawn destroyed. Should I be concerned for plants and soon to be laid artificial grass?  

Answer 1

You should be grateful to have such an animal visit your garden and think twice about degrading the environment with the addition of plastic grass.  

Comments

@kaule it has destroyed the lawn. However tiered garden so badger will be grateful to have food options on several levels

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@kaule I do not degrade the environment by travelling overseas, driving a car, I use renewable household energy and grow own food. However I do not wish to trek across or look at muzzled up mud patch

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@adequate we had a badger a year ago tipped all our bins over . terrified my fur baby's . so I was glad and still am I haven't seen or heard it since

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@kaule l got take grass and like it my lawn was a mess and it is the second lot l have bought and if needed l will buy again my choice nowt to do with others

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@baez32 but it does affect others. It reduces biodiversity a d increases ru off resulting in I creased flood risk. The sooner its banned the better.  

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@kaule completely agree

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@kaule Really hate when people degrade a genuine question. Each to their own! I love my fake grass but provide other resources for wild life

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@baez32 - what did you do with the first lot.? I worry that there aren’t provisions for recycling fake grass yet, so it does damage whilst it’s down and once it’s gone!  

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@adequate its your garden do whats best for you and your family and dont let anyone tell you otherwise.  

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@heterogamy67 the artificial grass will be 20% of my land. I will retain a 10% area of lawn otherside of my property. The remainder is tiered beds. Next to my land is 6. 5 acres of road free open grassland. Reason I am reiterating this is be ause of judgemental comments

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@laius thank you

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@adequate welcome flower pardon the pun

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What do badgers do that destroy grass then? Intrigued.  

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@cormick98559 probably rooting around for worms I'd guess

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@taintless took it to the tip

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@kaule we have never been flooded with it it has holes in it for that In fact when we had bad rain it laid there then next time we looked it had gone Same as the awning in my caravan rained heavy it never soaked up rain You say damage if you got a perfect lawn then all good but we had a big mud patch

Answer 2

I’m sure it will think twice about visiting your garden once the fake grass is down, it won’t be able to feed. In which case you won’t have to worry about damage being caused

Answer 3

Just badger proof your garden if it bothers you that much. Don’t destroy your grass or plants as so many other animals benefit from them. and the land!  

Comments

Pretty impossible to badger proof a garden, if they want in, they will find a way!  

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Depends. We can badger proof farms so a garden wouldn’t to much of a problem

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@billybillycock thank you

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@adequate I think you could possibly do the wire under the fence, like what they would do to fix proof a chicken pen. I’m sure google would help you.  

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@billybillycock my mum had a badger in her garden, we have absolutely no idea how it got in, no holes in the fence, no damage to the fence, no tunnels, it’s like it was a flying badger

Answer 4

Lawn is only 20% of the garden

Answer 5

They can be a real nuisance, and it's impossible to stop them, they've tore both our gates up, and dug our garden up night after night, we left the gates open in the end, and they eventually stopped coming, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them again this year.  

Answer 6

Much as I loved having badgers in my garden it stressed me out so much. Mum and two little ones at one time. Every time the security light came on I was up. Every morning I opened the curtains to more devastation. Local Badger Group came round. Suggested a radio at night. I tried human hair, chillies. Son refused to wee in the garden. I eventually had a second gravel board put in with new fencing to replace the broken panels. All was ok until a couple of months ago. More wire fencing elsewhere. I have a tub of pooh from the Zoo to try next. A licence can be obtained from Natural England, this is aimed at developers not residents, which costs about £5000. This allows the sett to be closed down (gates put on the openings to stop them going in but they could exit). The badger then relocates itself. Good luck.  

Comments

@ryan48775 Evans thank you. Guess I will give husband a bottle

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@adequate Good luck. I got a lot of abuse when I posted asking for suggestions.  

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@ryan48775 Evans yes getting that feeling too. Seems like the mere mention of artificial grass is lighting the blue touch paper. Wonder if decking posts get same response. Have no intention of harming or starving wildlife. Lawn is only 20% of land. I live next to 6. 5 acres greenspace

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Should read of my land which is next to 6. 5 acres of green space

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@adequate I’m guessing the ones saying you should be grateful to have them visit have never had to deal with the destruction, it’s your garden, do whatever you want to

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@adequate it's your garden do what best suits you or your family. My daughter has a small patch of AG simply because she suffers from Fibromyalgia and cutting the grass is one less chore for her to worry about.  

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@lawgiver6790 agree. I wouldn't harm them and they would be more than welcome if they didn't cause such a mess.  

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@ryan48775 Evans I actually like badgers but the damage they did to our garden is no joke dug the lawn up dug 3 feet holes trying to get under the gravel boards to next door broke our pots ate the bulbs don’t want them in our garden again

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@trail70282 I agree. Trouble is their territory is being eroded. X

Answer 7

So lucky to have a badger. Ditch the artificial turf and enjoy watching the badger.  

Answer 8

Your lucky to have a badger visiting you. Try feeding it you maybe surprised at how clever they are

Answer 9

I would love to have a badger visit my garden I've never seen one only in pictures think there beautiful animals

Answer 10

Badgers will eat all your slugs and snails and your plants will be very grateful ☺️

Comments

And they will wreck your garden as well

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So you think smells of wee fake grass is better  

Answer 11

And they still can in 80% of my garden

Answer 12

All the people saying lucky to have badger visiting garden obviously do not have badgers visiting ‍♀️ we do and they’re very disruptive. Paid a lot of money to have garden landscaped last year and they’ve totally wrecked the lawn. As well as big holes under the fence where they get in. You block a hole and they dig to the side, never ending! I would certainly be very happy if they decided to go elsewhere  

Comments

@smokeless41 My fences have been wrecked by badgers. No point in mending or blocking the holes as they smash through in another place.  

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@smokeless41 agree we have huge holes to fill after they have been visiting. They rip our fences apart it's an on going job just keeping on top of it.  

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They would probably be very happy if housing developments didnt pop up all over the land they call home . unfortunately we all need to learn to live together

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@greatly I agree to a point. we all need somewhere to live. Would be nice if there was a solution for those who are affected ‍♀️ but there isn’t, we’ve tried. It’s very sole destroying when all your hard work, and of course the finances you have put into your home, are ruined overnight.  

Answer 13

Put barbed wire across the bottom of your fence, vandalism paint on top, trip mines around the area, the badgers won’t get anywhere near your garden  

Answer 14

There after the grubs under lawn, treat the lawn and you're golden.  

Comments

@expository5 do you mean put poison on your lawn for insects? Do people still do that? And what if the badgers eat poisoned grubs?  

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@selachian And don’t forget the birds.  

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It's a treatment from green thumb (or whoever) it's fine for everything except the larvae. They are a good 5 or 6 inches below the lawn and they are feeding in the roots of the grass so you'll lose the lawn anyway.  

Answer 15

If you dont want them in your garden go to a hairdresser and get the hair , sprinkle it around their path and they wont come in,  

Comments

@semiquaver I tried that. Didn’t work.  

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Maybe not enough hair or didnt leave it for long enough, works on squirrels too

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@semiquaver thanks for this

Answer 16

They will be regular visitors once they get in.  

Answer 17

Can someone explain why artificial grass is so offensive? Understand it's not bio degradable yet or there isn't much in the way of recycling but these people looking into using it like @adequate aren't torturing animals by using it? The poor woman has replied in several comments her lawn is only 20% of the garden, she has many other environmentally friendly things in her garden so why are people so upset over it? I'm just looking to understand both sides?  

Comments

@ludewig you can now buy recyclable artificial grass

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@ludewig And some people like me who’ve got Arthritis struggle with cutting their lawns, it’s not about being lazy as some people have said in the past, it’s about keeping you’re garden tidy especially if you’re disabled. I loved my real lawn but my dogs wrecked it so it was just a muddy mess most of the time and my arthritis has got worse so it’s better for me.  

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I would love to be able to afford artificial grass or at least a few more pavers replacing the lawn destroyed by dog wee is the worst even if i fenced half of it for trixie it would still leave a good sized area for lawn its all work for future ideas

Answer 18

If it's just a small part of the garden as this lady states it's not such a problem, it's when you end up with great swathes of it that it becomes an issue. It effectively sterilisies the area affecting biodiversity above and below it and encourages faster run off thereby exacerbating flooding. It also has to be replaced regularly thereby creating even more plastic waste.  

Answer 19

Why cover a garden in plastic ? Disaster for the enviroment  

Comments

@directions Schwar we’ll throw it in the sea then  

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@directions because it’s the op’s garden, so up to her what she wants to do in it!  

Answer 20

All i get is a fat pigeon  would love more wildlife

Answer 21

We have badgers and although rural they are gorgeous they are only after what's theirs . They have dug all the lawn up but that's no trouble ! It was mum dad and babies ! Plus foxes too digging . The hair trick does work but nature is nature you can't stop them completely . They have trotted off on many a night to the neighbours garden . But they do eat all the pests and grubs . leather jacks and rollers which sit under the lawn so are brillant for a natural solution ours come each year at this time but leave again in a few weeks to go further down the village . Look after them they are amazing got rid of all my pests !  

Answer 22

No please don’t put down any type of poison it will kill the badger and other wildlife . wildlife deserve to live to . end of the day we are taking over there home . by building all these houses .  

Comments

@derian I'm sure no one was suggesting putting down poison as harming or killing a badger or disturbing its sett is illegal and could result in imprisonment

Answer 23

I'd put food out every night, then they'll be less likely to dig. I'd like to think anyway! I could just be increasing your food bill for the pleasure of getting your artificial grass ripped up :-)

Answer 24

I have bought my 1st house with a nice garden, lawn and green house. Next step is raised beds for veg. I too have had my lawn dug up, going back to the original post I to would like to know if in future my seeds and young plants are going to get wrecked?  

Comments

@mccracken Up to now Brock has stayed away from my borders. Wish could see him. Appears to play with my grandson's ball; it gets moved around a lot. X

Answer 25

I won’t have grass in my back garden . I have dogs so I cover the garden with bark and have stepping stones. Works really well for me, no mud, no smell, no having to cut the grass or throw it away when it’s worn out  I just top it up each spring and that’s it.  

Answer 26

Tulip bulbs they love them took me 3 years to realise why my bulbs never came up, caught a badger digging them up, gosh their quite big when u get close to them

Comments

@argenteuil youlearn somethingneweveryday. At my previous home I would lovingly plant many bulbs only to see them sprout in my neighbours unkempt garden, courtesy of squirrels