DEAR JOAN: Can you solve this mystery? For many years, my husband has been picking up golf balls from the hill next to us. There isn't a golf course within 5 miles of us, so where are they coming from?

My husband thinks golfers are hitting balls off the top of the hill. I think the turkeys that have been around for a long time or vultures are picking up the golf balls from a course somewhere.

Otherwise, there is a very avid golfer around hitting golf balls off the hill for a long time now, which wouldn't be very nice because there are many homes at the base of the hill.



Goofy for golf balls.
Goofy for golf balls. (Charles Fox/Philadelphia Inquirer)

DEAR KRISTEN: I think you're on the right track, but I suspect crows, ravens or gulls as the culprits.

Wild turkeys can fly, but they don't fly far. They also aren't known for picking things up and carrying them. Crows, ravens and gulls are. Crows and ravens are particularly fond of round objects, which they mistake for nuts or eggs.

They often snatch them off golf courses and driving ranges. They then fly away with them and try to crack them open by pecking at them or dropping them from the air. Gulls also will take golf balls and try to open them.

Golf balls aren't cheap, so unless your mysterious hilltop golfer is also rather wealthy, I doubt anyone would repeatedly drive balls into the void with little hope of recovering them.


DEAR JOAN: I have been reading your comments about raccoons, grubs and beneficial nematodes and waiting for the opportune time to attack the problem. Our nursery person advised that it is too early to apply beneficial nematodes.

Recently, however, I noticed our resident squirrel digging with paws and nose in the lawn, and now I am wondering if it might not be a raccoon problem but rather a squirrel problem we have. The lawn has been dug in various places over several months. Maybe the rain made the ground softer for digging.

Also, we have noticed that the lawn is bumpy and uneven. A gopher fence was installed below the sod. Any opinion here?

Sheila Crowley


DEAR SHEILA: Beneficial nematodes -- tiny little creatures that get inside grubs and release a bacteria that kills the grubs in 48 hours -- can be applied anytime grubs are active, so that's generally in the spring and fall months.

The type of damage you have on your lawn should help identify the creature doing it, although not always. Small, random holes could be the work of squirrels burying nuts or other food items or looking for the stuff they buried earlier. It also could be skunks and raccoons looking for grubs.

If you have major damage, such as having the sod rolled up, that's definitely raccoons. The lumpy, bumpy lawn could be the result of previous gopher activity. The tunnels may remain even after the gophers have gone.

It also could be tree roots, or it just might be the age of the lawn. Aging lawns naturally develop lumps, bumps and dips as they age, although because you just installed the gopher barrier, it sounds like your sod may be new and the ground should have been leveled before installation.

The lack of rain, followed by the recent deluges, may also cause lumpy lawn syndrome.

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