When you wake up in the morning, glance out your window and see that giant sections of your lawn have been torn up, it's likely the work of a neighborhood skunk that prowls backyards after dark. The first step toward dealing with this eyesore is getting rid of the skunk problem; there's little point in spending time repairing your lawn if the skunk will return night after night. Call your local pest control service to explain the problem, and it will send a technician to your home to trap the animal and relocate it. Once the skunk is gone, you can get working on restoring the look of your lawn.
Put The Patches Back Into Place
When a skunk tears up your lawn in search of foods such as grubs, it will often peel back large sections of the grass in a systematic manner. In many cases, these sections of grass will remain mostly intact, which may come as a bit of a surprise. This often means that you can simply put these sections back into place, step on them firmly and then water them thoroughly to encourage the growth of new roots. In some cases, these areas will continue to grow; in other cases, you'll notice that the grass is dying, which means that it's time to change your strategy a little.
Buy Sections Of Sod
If some of the skunk-damaged sections of your lawn failed to survive, pull them up and discard them. Then, visit your local garden center and buy a few pieces of sod and a sod knife. Estimate the size of each of the areas that you'll need to fill, cut the sod to size and push the sod into place. Give the area a thorough watering to help the sod "take."
Start From Seed
In some cases, the damage from the skunk will be substantial enough that you'll be left with several bald spots. While sod is one option, you can go the traditional route of reseeding any problematic areas. Buy a high-quality seed and sprinkle it liberally. If the dirt in the damaged areas is packed firm, rake it up a little with a heavy rake to give the seeds a better chance of taking hold. Then, water the seeded areas consistently according to the instructions on the seed bag and, pretty soon, you'll have a lawn that looked just as good as it did before the skunk arrived.
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