How to Fill Holes in the Lawn With Soil
- 1). Remove the top layer of sod, if the hole is an old one. Dig down 4 inches into the soil around the hole and lift the sod out of the area. If the hole was created by a collapsing rodent nest, dig out the surface until you locate the nest so you can fill in the tunnels around it.
- 2). Fill the hole with soil until it is approximately 4 inches from level with the surface. Use a tamper or a 6-foot, 4-by-4-inch board on end to compact the soil at the base of the hole. Refill after tamping until the final layer is approximately 4 inches from level with the surface of the surrounding lawn.
- 3). Replace sod over the hole if the hole had been caused by rodents or was old enough to have a layer of sod cover it. If the hole was caused by children, pets or a construction project, fill the hole with soil until level with the top of the surrounding soil and gently tamp to push into the hole.
- 4). Place sod plugs gathered from the surrounding lawn at 6-inch intervals across the soil in the hole. Press a sod plug tool at a variety of spots in the existing lawn to gather as many as needed for the hole. Using existing lawn to reseed the hole after the repair will blend it in perfectly with the existing lawn.
- 5). Water thoroughly and keep moist until the sod plugs are established.
