Prairie Dog Habitat
While prairie dogs live in many regions of the U.S., plains and other open areas are their favorite spaces.
These environments not only provide plenty of food, but the short grass makes it easier to detect predators. As a result, finding a prairie dog in the garden or yard is common. Well-tended properties with neatly trimmed lawns are most likely to attract the pests.
Garden Damage
Prairie dogs live in large social groups that can number in the thousands, so a colony quickly gets disruptive. Prairie dogs in a garden may feed on plants or clear away vegetation around their tunnel entrances. Since burrows may have up to fifty different entrances, damage can be severe.
The pests' burrowing behavior in gardens can also endanger people. Prairie dog tunnels may collapse, injuring livestock, pets, or residents.
In addition, damage to lawn care and gardening equipment caused by these tunnels and burrows can get expensive.
Prairie Dog Solutions
Some species of these rodents are endangered, so control options vary across the country.
To be safe, homeowners who discover a prairie dog in the garden should contact the wildlife experts at Critter Control for humane trapping and removal services.