Strange. Sounds like something is grabbing them and pulling them out of the ground, but then deciding they aren't tasty enough to eat.

I am constanly having holes du in my gardens also. Everyone always tells me it is our neighborhood skunk. But whatever is doing this in my yard does not dig up plants. Just dirt and mulch.

These aren't pulled out, as the plant is un-nibbled, and the hole is excavated to larger than the plant roots, since I always follow that advice about "$1 plant $10 hole" and ammend a larger volume of soil. Almost all of the ammended soil is removed from the hole.

George

My idiot neighbor feeds peanuts to our huge glossy squirrels.

The evil beasts bring the peanuts to my yard, uproot anything recently planted, even in pots(!), and bury their treasure.

They're too lazy to actually dig their own holes, when there is all that nice loose stuff so temptingly convenient.

Raccoons are notorious for digging up plants and then just leaving them. we have a couple who visit here every night and they did that with my Casa Blanca lilies.Luckily I replanted them and they bloomed. Do you have an raccoons in your area?

It could also be a rabbit preparing a nest for impending babies. They take a few days to prepare a site first digging a hole, then filling the hole with dried grasses and other vegetation and finally lining the whole thing with hair plucked from her own chest and haunches. The nest of an experienced mother is water-proof and tight enough to keep the little ones warm. They usually dig under plants or beside a clump of vegetation to make the hole and a newly human-dug hole seems to be particularly attractive. I am cat-less this year and the neighborhood rabbits have declared my gardens THE nursery site of choice.

spiderwoman

Whoever or whatever has dug up my morning glory vine a dozen times this year! The poor thing is on it's last legs!!

Squirrels most likely.

Every spring I have to patrol after planting to re-plant everything they've excavated.

Squirrels dig to both bury and retrieve food. A squirrel can smell that the ground has been disturbed and most likely assumes something tasty has been hidden there either by himself or a rival squirrel. He digs down to find the (assumed) hidden nut.

I agree with the above. It's probably squirrels. I got so mad one time that I put a little stockade of rose prunings around my newly planted perennials. It works most of the time.

More than likely it's squirrels looking for nuts. I covered my corn planting in chicken wire just to give them time to sprout before they start their excavations. A thick mulch seems to deter them slightly, but only slightly. If it's exposed dirt, they'll go after it in a heartbeat.

It could also be raccoons as they dig for grubs, which are root feeders. If they smell them at the base of a plant - out of the ground it goes.

If the plants are dug up at night it is most likely raccoons. Squirrels aren't nocturnal and do their foraging and digging during the day but they mostly stick to freshly planted bulbs not plants.

Same problem here....Buy "shake away", spread it today and all day long no visiters! Squirrels in my beds nor possums on fence. Sooo Happy!!
It is safe for our pets too!

I plant one day and the next day they are dug up in not sure by what so I take a stake and tie a store bag on it , it seems to work , but would still like to no what is digging them up ..

we had 6 perennials dug up the night after we planted them, we replanted and had two of the same ones dug up the next night. we have raccoons, would they do that?.

I've had a lilac bush, planted two weeks ago, have the same thing happen. We have squirrels, raccoons, possum and ground hogs. I initially suspected juvenile ground hogs, but it sounds like according to everyone else's experiences, squirrels and raccoons may be to blame. Okay, so, step 2, how to make them stop?

Use a motion camera.

to find out what is doing this..

I'm in SW Pa, and I have seen many small holes where I have perennials planted under my trees, I must say that I haven't seen any plants "Dug up" though, but, I am curious what the holes are for. I am sure my pest that has dug holes in my areas where I have plants, isn't likely the same pest, since the plants haven't been dug up, but, I do wonder what pests would dig a hole near plants but not upheave them, but, will hide out in these holes, I've even heard that Copperhead snakes hide in holes, but, I've never seen a Copperhead her in my my yard, the only one I've ever seen was up in the mountains, at a very good amount of elevation from my home. I do think that the holes are likely from Moles.

Like you, I have something repeatedly digging up my plants. It doesn't eat them. It just digs around them and the plant is often thrown aside. I put up a camera and found I have at least one racoon and 1 possum entering my yard. I suspect the racoon doing the damage because no plants have been eaten todate.

Hey Hu, I haven't seen any holes this year yet. I'm thinking that mine was either moles or a critter eating grubs out of the ground and making those holes to get to them. Yeah, that raccoon was likely your culprit, maybe we had a raccoon last year, or a possum.

I am just glad that none of them went into the garbage cans. We have small fences around the cans but something or somebody bashed into the fences and now they are mostly leaning over on one side. The fences are near the driveway that we share with 4 other families. later Hu.

yep, raccoons, and yes they are nocturnal. Buy, repellent and spread it around the area. they dug up my lilac, i replanted it and spread repellent, fixed the problem. just planted a hibiscus, noticed some digging, i had spread repellent in the area week before so it deterred further digging deeper, so i just spread more repellent over my entire flower bed, do so weekly.

Shrubs are too big for squirells. More likely a raccoon. Depending on where you live armadillos are a possibility. I live next to a creek where every Memorial Day weekend a snapping turtle comes out to lay eggs. She digs three big holes before she settles on a location. i just replanted three butterfly bushes that something dug out! Grrr!

Same thing is happening to us night After night. We put a camera on them and it is a racoon AND a opossum. They dont want the plants but to only dig the dirt. I assume they are looking for food or something they smell in this dirt.

I am plagued by squirrels here-I have to cover every inch of garden with chicken wire, down to a pot of petunias! I had a situation at my previous house with flower bulbs dug up & placed-undamaged-next to the hole at night. I went out one night & cought it in the act...screamed like a little girl & ran beck inside! It was a skunk next to my porch! I was told by my local garden & feed store that they find bulb fertilizer irrisitible. I forget if it was the bone meal (I think) or blood meal. Either way, I know squirrels are drawn to disturbed earth but our striped neighbors are destructive also-and you don't want to meet them in the dark!