I don't know about Pomona but in San Diego the Animal Control department only will act on animals that are a danger to people.

As I recall, Animal Control will rent you a HAVE-A-HEART trap and you do the trapping.

Beyond catching, is prevention ... 2 things that worked for me: [1] Lay sections of chicken wire flat on the ground around new seed bed or transplants. If just a few, lay sticks-twigs around new transplant.
[2] The varmit is most likely digging for grubs ... once I got rid of those, have had no further problems.

Jenn, good luck with that (as in, probably not going to happen). And, even animals that are a danger to people will not be acted upon unless you have contained the animal in SD county (you can ask me how I know this!) You might try looking "pest control" in your telephone book or online on www.Superpages.com, and see if you can find a company that manages wild animal pest control - some do but they're few and far between. Otherwise, I would see about getting a Haveahart trap large enough to trap a racoon, and set it in the area. I would bait it with carrots and peanut butter. See what you can catch. The trick is being sure to release the critter without someone reporting you. Certain animals are considered "pests", and you cannot release them without getting fined. So, best to do so at night and in an open, wild area is possible.

Patty S.

Rent a Hav-a-hart trap, but be sure and find out what you can do with the critter after trapping. You are not allowed to dump them off in the hills. Be warned that the critter's competition will move into the territory once they figure out it's open, so the problem will be ongoing.

It is probably a possum or a raccoon. Raccoons are hard to trap, and be ready for a bloody mess if you catch a possum, because they try to chew their way through the metal cage and break their teeth off. Both have babies now, so you also have to be prepared for an invasion of baby critters. One year we found baby possums throughout the house for two weeks: in the bedroom, in the kitchen, then one in the study, and one stuck with fear to the big square window fan in the living room, getting a blow-dry. Their mother had been killed and they were big enough to wander about. Mike finally got a snake stick so he could pull them out from under the fridge!

As far as deterrents- dogs are good. I use concrete reinforcing wire over the beds. It does not inhibit planting, and it is easy to cover with mulch, but the critters don't like to dig in the little four-inch squares.

For iris rhizomes, bend a piece of coat hanger wire into a U and stake the rhizome to the ground.

Renee

in our city the animal control rents the traps for $50 deposit and $2.00/day rate. Once trapped, they will pickup for free.

good luck

Pretty much any effective pest or pathogen control begins with proper identification of the creature doing the damage. Based on my experiences, it's most likely skunks - I have possums, racoons, squirrels and feral cats and only the skunks do the sort of nocturnal damage you describe -- unless of course there's buried kitty poop there instead.

Most cities won't come trap the wide-ranging skunks for you, they can barely be persuaded to take the ones you capture, as the California Department of Fish and Game prohibits the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control from relocating any wild animal (ALWAYS trap a wild animal in a no-harm cage if you want to avoid prosecution and the scorn of neighborhood children).

I engineered my way around the problem in the back by blocking every gap into the yard over 2" wide and I accepted them in the front as part of my ecosystem and I just fix their damage, along with that from cats, kids and the rest of nature.

Here is a link that might be useful: LA county wildlife info

Thank you for your replies.

This problem began after our dog died several years ago. Whatever it is, it digs in the open areas so I'm hopeful that once the new plants fill in there will be less digging.

As far as getting rid of the grubs --- how??

Concrete reinforcement wire, or chicken wire, sounds like the best bet. I lay thorny rose canes around some plants and that helps; I've also covered the compost pile with them.

I've never tried the beneficial nematodes, which will destroy many grubs underground, but I've heard some success stories and no good argument against them.

Here is a link that might be useful: beneficial nematodes