What does a badger sett look like? Every now and then someone asks me this question, so it’s about time that I tried to answer it properly. This is my guide to badger setts and what to look for. I have hesitated a little before writing this. After all, badgers are still persecuted in some parts of the country, and I don’t want to make it any easier for someone with bad intentions to find badger setts. On the other hand, the more people that know about the badgers in their area the better. If people are aware of their local setts then they can keep an eye on them, and besides, badgers have been a source of pleasure for me and I’d like to share the experience with other people if I can.
I’ve illustrated this post with pictures taken on a walk this afternoon. This is a good time of year to go out and look for badger setts. The badgers are active and the vegetation has not yet grown up. Believe me, trying to find badger setts in head-high nettles is a daunting prospect.
The first step to identifying a badger sett is to find a likely area where they might be living. Badgers are surprisingly widespread and they have a fantastic ability to live under people’s noses and yet remain out of sight, so don’t rule out any patch of countryside. They do have certain preferences though, and to narrow down the search you have to understand a little about their habits and lifestyle. It helps to be able to think like a badger!
People think of badgers as woodland creatures, and it’s true, they mostly do live in woods and that is where to look for them. But they don’t spend all their time there. In the UK, the main food of the badger is the earthworm, and the best place to catch earthworms is on short grass – ideally grass that has been grazed by livestock. So the best place to find badgers is in woodland that borders on grassy fields. They live in the wood and that gives them shelter and security; and they can feed in the fields.
But not all woodlands are good for badgers. Badgers live underground, so they need somewhere suitable for digging. Damp, marshy ground is definitely out and anywhere that is liable to flood (such as river valleys) is usually avoided. In my part of Bedfordshire the badgers prefer the nice, dry sandy soil, but they also seem quite happy in clay. Badgers definitely seem to prefer a sloping site rather than a very flat one. This might be the slope of a hill, the side of a disused quarry or even a large hedgerow bank. They like anywhere where they can tunnel in sideways rather than straight down. I suppose that it is easier to dig, easier to shift the soil, better drained and presumably easier for them to walk out of a horizontal hole rather than climb out of a vertical one.
So we are looking for a piece of woodland with sloping ground with grassy fields nearby. Should we now go into the wood and start looking for holes? Well no. Not yet.
Badgers will cover a territory with a radius of 300-500m from their sett. This means that there will often be many signs of badgers in the general area of the sett. Finding these can give you confidence that there are badgers in the vicinity and help to narrow down your search. Fortunately badgers are creatures of habit and leave some regular indications of their presence.
If you’re walking through pasture fields, keep a lookout for badger paths, snuffle holes and dung pits. Badgers travel on paths whenever possible (see Why do badgers use paths?) and over time these paths can be quite pronounced. If I recall, Pablo even managed to identify badger paths from satellite photographs on Google maps. I’ve tried this myself, and it really is possible.
Here is a series of paths over the pasture field. The trouble with paths is that you never really know who makes them, whether it is badgers or another animal (humans being another obvious cause). In this case I have tracked badgers across this field when there has been snow on the ground and they consistently follow these paths.
Here’s another example. In this case the path crosses the field and then goes under a fence. This means that it cannot have been made by humans, livestock or deer. Other animals such as rabbits will make regular runs, but if you see a deep path like this, start suspecting badgers.
Incidentally, if you ever come across a path under a fence, check the bottom strand of wire to see if any hairs have been caught. This can give you a positive i.d. of the animal that made the path. Badger hairs are grey or black and have a squarish cross section. When you roll a badger hair between your fingers it feels irregular rather than round.
Snuffle holes are the holes made by badgers digging for food. They are a good sign of badger activity, but other animals can leave similar holes and cause confusion. Rabbits will often dig shallow scrapes, but rabbit scrapes are usually oval whilst badger snuffle holes are more conical.
Dung pits are a particular feature of badger territories. Badgers do not deposit their dung just anywhere, they use special pits. Badgers use dung as a territory marker, so you will often find dung pits on badger paths around the edge of their territory. Dung pits look very much like snuffle holes, but with dung in them.
Badger dung is usually a dark greyish-green, which shows that they have been feeding on earthworms. Badgers will cheerfully eat many other things too, so it is always interesting to inspect the dung pits and see what they have been feeding on. Here’s the dung of badger that seems to have been gorging on cherries (I have no idea where it got them in February!)
Where the territories of two badger clans meet the dung pits can be quite extensive as each side marks its territory. Here’s a large latrine with many pits that badgers have somewhat inconsiderately dug into a main footpath in the wood.
Signs like these tell you that there are badgers in the area and that they are active. Now you can start to look through the wood and try to find their sett. Rather than looking at random, there are a couple of things that will help you. Remember that badgers prefer a slope, so concentrate on areas of sloping ground, particularly on the outskirts of the wood. The other thing you can do is look for paths and follow them. Sooner or later a path will lead you to a sett. It can be great fun to try to follow paths, as they usually twist and turn through the wood, sometimes clear and obvious, other times fading out altogether. A frustrating but fun way to spend an afternoon.
Here’s a particularly clear badger path. Note how generations of badgers have worn a deep path into the soil.
One way to tell that you are following a badger path is to look for tracks – often a difficult challenge in a wood. Alternatively, here’s something you might see. The path goes over a fallen tree and badgers have left clear claw marks as they climbed over.
So what does an actual badger sett look like? The obvious thing to look for is holes in the ground. Depending on the size of the sett there may be anything between a single hole and twenty holes spread over a hundred yards or so. Many animals live in holes, but there are some features of badger setts to look out for.
Badger setts are very extensive underground. Some have up to 300m of tunnels – far more than rabbits or foxes. The badgers have to shift a lot of soil, and this means that badger setts usually have substantial spoil heaps outside. Over time these spoil heaps can literally change the shape of the landscape, creating large shelves or platforms outside the holes. The main sett that I watch is obviously an old one, as the whole area is pock-marked by holes and hummocks so that it resembles a First World War battlefield. Active setts are easy to spot because there will usually be fresh spoil outside. Badgers are compulsive diggers, and although much digging is done in spring before the cubs arrive, they will tend to dig all year round. Here is an entrance to a sett. Notice the large spoil heap and the obvious path coming in from the right.
The spoil heaps will often contain dried grass or bracken that the badgers had dragged in as bedding and then subsequently cleared out at a later date. In my experience this happens when they are preparing an old chamber for re-use, for instance when preparing for cubs.
The actual holes of a badger sett have a characteristic shape, usually referred to as a sideways D. The key feature is that they are broader than they are tall. This makes sense if you think of the shape of a badger – fairly wide and low-slung. Rabbit holes, by contrast, are an oval shape that looks like an O. Here is a classic badger sett entrance that shows the typical shape.
Here’s another sett entrance where the badgers have dug under a fallen tree, either by accident or on purpose, creating a nice sturdy lintel. There are a couple of holes under trees like this at this sett, which makes me wonder whether it is a deliberate choice. I’ve also seen a few setts that are in the roots at the base of a large tree. Again, this gives the badgers the protection of a wooden roof, at least for the entrance to the sett. Perhaps this is a widespread design feature.
Again, notice that the hole is still wider than it is tall.
Active holes will show signs of recent digging, but if you are lucky you can find badger tracks at the entrance to a sett. This is the best evidence you can get that the hole is inhabited by a badger. Note the mass of tracks at this hole, suggesting that a number of badgers are present.
Lastly, have a look around the immediate area of the sett. Badgers will have a main latrine site nearby – like the dung pits on the edge of their territory but larger and more concentrated. At many setts there will be patches of leaf mould that have been dug up and scuffled about as the badgers look for food. There will often also be clear patches where the soil has been worn smooth. These are ‘play areas’ where the badgers congregate, play and groom each other. Sometimes there may be ‘play trees’ – tree stumps or fallen trees that the badgers climb and play over. These are sometimes worn smooth too – the result of whole generations of badgers using them as a playground.
So now you know what to look for. Look for the right sort of habitat – woodland near pasture, ideally with sloping ground. Look out for the peripheral signs of badger activity – paths, dung pits and snuffle holes. Through a combination of following paths and sensibly interpreting the landscape you will hopefully be able to find the sett and confirm that there are badgers in residence. Of course, the best way to tell whether there are badgers present is to actually see one of the beasts, so once you have identified an active sett you can sit up and watch. And that’s where it really starts to get interesting.
Good luck finding badger setts, and good luck watching!
Really excellent article BM, & some very good pics, Google earth/maps are indeed detailed enough to save some time in locating setts, which may not (we hope) be too accessible. Setts do come in many locations, one I discovered quite recently is high up on an almost vertical embankment – it seems the brocks slide down to the stream below, feast in the pastures & meander to the top in a roundabout way. Thanks again for sharing your studies, sites like yours are a real delight to visit.
Thanks Spiney – appreciated. I’ve seen many setts in different locations, but never right at the top of a bank like that. I can almost picture the badgers sliding down though. It’s the sort of playful thing that they’d do. I have seen badger paths that go down some pretty sheer slopes, so I guess they aren’t put off by the steepness.
This is really a fantastic article. I’m lucky enough to be currently living in an area where we get badgers visiting the garden but having only recently moved here I’m still trying to track down the local sett(s). Plenty of snuffle holes here and some latrine holes – even a regular siting of a badger – but no sett yet…
Hi Richard, and welcome!
I must confess, there are still badger setts in my local area that I still haven’t tracked down yet. I know they’re there, and I know their rough location from mapping latrine sites and paths, but I still haven’t found the setts yet. Never mind – it wouldn’t be any fun if everything was too obvious.
Great site, by the way. I must have a good look when I get a moment.
All the best
BWM
I went badger watching down in paigton zoo, and having seen badgers fleetingly on 3 occasions (as well as twice seeing honey badgers in africa), it was wonderful to have more than a few seconds with them.
Will try to use your info to find a local badger sett so that i can do it more often
tim
Hi Tim
Best of luck with your badger watching. Remember that where you see one badger, there will be more. Keep looking out for the signs and you’ll track them down sooner or later.
I’ve never seen a honey badger, but they have a fierce reputation. Anything that eats venomous snakes deserves respect.
Good luck, and all the best
BWM
Out metal detecting yesterday… decided to venture towards an ajoining hedge row and there is was… My first discovery of a sett.
Lived in the country all my life, never come accros one before, and it can only be 2 weeks old. WOW!
Will be keeping a descrete eye on this.
Hi Glyn and welcome
Congratulations on finding your badger sett. Once you get your eye in you’ll start to find signs all over the place.
And you’re not anywhere near Bedfordshire are you? I have a friend who lost the keys to his tractor in a field and needs the assistance of someone with a metal detector.
All the best
BWM
We found our first set about half a mile from where we live
Hi Karen & Ron
Welcome and thanks for visiting. Good to hear about your sett, especially since it’s so close to you. I hope you get the chance to see the badgers there.
Good luck and all the best
BWM
I found this site whilst looking for info on how to verify that what I thought was a badger sett actually was, now i’m pretty sure!
The sett I found was in a hedgerow on a disused farm quite far from woodland! The badgers are obviously using the hedge as a substitute for woodland habitat, which I think is great and just goes to show how important these small fragments of habitats are to wildlife!
The hedge is only a couple of metres wide at its widest points and is full of birds and woodmice (I was trapping for small mammals when I came across the sett), having badgers in there as well is amazing!
Planning on having a stake out for them next week!
Hi Badgerman,
you might remember me from a fair few months back telling you about a set that i had found, well i set my camera trap up near there and got a badger on it! The thing i don’t know is wether that badger is living in the set or not? It seems there has been leaves in the entrances for a while, could it be using an entrance that i haven’t seen yet? Or is this an Annex set?
Hi Badger man, just found your website…just wanted to say thank you for all the info…it is brilliant.
I am trying to find evidence of badgers living in fields behind our house as a large development company have bought it and want to build supermarket, petrol station, restaurant & 180 houses.
We know that there are badgers as some of the neighbours feed them, but wanted to get some photo evidence that they are there, as the developers say there are not any!
So thanks again and we are going sett hunting tomorrow!
kim
Hi Kim and welcome
I’m glad you found the guide useful. The idea was to share information about badger setts so that everyone could get involved and hopefully the badgers will benefit from that.
Good luck with your sett hunting – let us know what you find!
All the best
BWM
Hi Kristian – good to hear from you, and congratulations on getting a picture of the badger.
It’s hard to tell whether a badger is living in a particular hole. Often a main entrance is obvious by its sheer size, with a vast spoil heap outside and a well-worn groove where the badgers have shuffled out with the excavated spoil. On the other hand I’ve seen badgers pop out of tiny holes that I hadn’t even seen.
And I’m still not sure about annexe setts and how they relate to main setts. It’s one of the things I want to work out – how and why badgers move between different holes.
There’s a couple of things you can do in addition to your camera trap. Have a good look round the area and see if there are any other holes. At this time of year the badgers should be spring cleaning, as they will often clear out parts of the sett ready for the birth of the cubs. Fresh spoil and discarded bedding are classic signs. If you’ve got a badger on the picture, there’ll be a sett within 350 to 500 metres away
The other thing is to carefully lay a few small sticks over the hole (small enough for the badger to brush them aside easily) and then see if they get dislodged. If they do, then something is living there. A refinement of this technique is to anchor a strip of sellotape across the hole, sticky side down, and see if you get any hairs stuck to it. I’ve never tried this myself as it sounds like a bit of a faff, but you never know. Alternatively, clear a patch of soil and make a track trap, which is much simpler.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on
All the best
BWM
do not try to kill badgers!
Hear hear! David Cameron, please take note…
Hi, Just googled information about badger dung pits and got you. Thanks very much for this article – it told us everything we needed to know about our local badgers here in the hillsides around Lago Maggiore, Italy. Great blog!
Hi Badger Watching Man!
Your site is great and very informative. I have a large garden-7 acres-and I suspect we have some badgers. Like you say they seem to be good at not being seen. Something has started digging holes under an old cedar tree and I wonder whether this is badgers. We have lots of rabbits and deer but these holes look different from rabbit holes and I cannot see any traces of rabbit dropings- there usually are some when rabbits have been scrabbing around. There are no visible footprints either. I have wondered whether they might be badger snuffle holes. I do not know where there is a set but there is a hole in a bank that looks unused that might be an old one. I have not found any droppings but today about 10 metres from the area of holes I found a single fresh dropping dark green/black 2 inches long. I have taken some pictures of the holes and the dropping. Can I e-mail them for you to see?
Hi Ken, and welcome!
If you’ve got deer and rabbits and mature trees it sounds like an ideal spot. They could be badger snuffle holes, but there are other things that dig like that. Squirrels will dig small holes to bury (or dig up) nuts, and the rabbits will make small scrapes too. It can be very hard to tell them apart.
Please do send in a picture – I’m always nosy about other people’s badgers!
All the best
BWM
Hi BWM!
Thankyou so much for your reply. Your site has been really useful and inspirational! I was sure these were snuffle holes so today I went in the garden and searched around a hole which I have felt for some time was a badgers sett. Lo and behold I found a latrine full of fresh dung! I have also seen some claw marks on a couple of trees which I think could be caused by the badgers. I would be very happy to send you some photos but how do I do that?
Best Wishes from Ken.
Hi Ken
Nice find! The latrine is a dead giveaway – a sure sign of badgers. The next thing to do is to sit out and watch, now that the evenings are getting warmer…
As for photos, feel free to e-mail them to me at badgerwatchingman@gmail.com and (if you’re OK with the idea) I’ll post them up on here.
All the best
BWM
I found, what I think, is a badger sett near my home in Dorking (Surrey). Some of the signs you mentioned were there: multiple, large ‘D’ shaped holes and piles of freshly dug soul in a forested slope .
The only thing I found puzzling, is that there was a dead hare near the entrance of one of the holes. The hare hadn’t been eaten and didnt show any signs of decay yet. From what I have read, it seems a bit unusual to find a dead animal outside a sett.
My concern was that perhaps the local farmer was trying to poison the badgers. Do people do this? or is this a normal badger behaviour to keep a bit of food ‘handy’?
Thanks
-Trish
Hi there Trish, and welcome
It sounds like badgers, which is good to hear, but the dead hare is unusual. There are a few records of badgers bringing food back to the sett, but it isn’t common. I’ve never seen it. Badgers are pretty solitary away from the sett (the paradox of an unsociable social animal), and they tend to eat things where they find them.
It could have been badgers. It could just be coincidence. It seems a lot of trouble to get hold of a hare to poison badgers, so I’m not sure that would be the case. I could be wrong though – there seems to be no end to the ways people find to persecute animals…
The only other thing I can think of is a fox. Foxes do bring food back to their den and we’re in the peak time for the birth of fox cubs now, so there may be a lady fox underground. It may be that you have a fox den rather than a badger sett. Just to confuse us, foxes will use old badger setts (and enlarge old rabbit holes) so their dens can be tricky to recognise. A couple of years ago I even had a family of foxes, complete with cubs, living in one of the unused holes of the main badger sett I watched, and the foxes and badgers seemed to get along fine as neighbours. I don’t think either a badger or a fox could catch an adult hare, but both will eat carrion.
So I’m afraid I don’t know. You might need to smooth down a patch of soil and try to get tracks, or better still, sit out one evening and watch, in order to clear up the mystery.
All the best
BWM
Hi,
Thanks for the great photos etc. I have been attempting badger watching now for about 18 months and until 2 days ago I hadn’t seen a badger at a sett. I know of many setts nearby but one inparticular is huge and on such a steep slope! Its in a derelict victorian hospital grounds and there are no footpaths in there so very few people go in there. I’ve watched other setts before that are easier for people to access but found the badgers are too nervous and come out hours after sunset.
I’ve been itching to watch this slopey sett for months now since I found it. I watched 2 days ago and I saw 2 huge badgers come out just 30 minutes after sunset. And tonight I went just after sunset not expecting to see anything as I slightly rustled on the leaves approaching the sett but within minutes a huge badger came out and wasn’t bothered by me at all! A while after 2 very small badgers came out which I would guess were last years cubs?
I can’t wait to go and watch them tomorrow with my other half! I hope they show for us both. Also can’t wait to see this years cubs playing!
Thanks,
Ele.
Hi Ele and welcome – congratulations on your good watching!
That must be very rewarding, to have your patience and dedication pay off so well. Welcome to the badger watching club! It sounds like you have a great spot there and your fieldcraft is good, so I’m sure you can look forward to more as the evenings get lighter.
The only thing I have to add is – watch out! Badger watching can be highly addictive. I’m a pretty level-headed and no-nonsense sort of chap, but there is something almost magical about being face to face with a badger in the twilight.
Good luck and happy watching
BWM
Hi,
I agree, it is very very addictive and if I didn’t have so much other stuff to do I would be down there every evening! Last night I took my other half to watch them and infortunately they didn’t come out. From where I sat I could see a head poke out of the entrance twice but it must have been able to sense us as it swiftly went back in. It is a shame as I know my other half could have used those hours more productively. However we did see and hear a lot of Roe deer close by that were unaware of us. I think unfortunately the wind changed direction while we were sat there. Hopefully we will have better luck next time.
Thanks again for all your invaluable information 🙂
Ele.
What a great site.
We’ve recently moved house. We have a mound at the end of the 40m garden, which has one hole in it. We assumed it was a badger sett, but were not entirely sure until today when, horribly, a lone badger pushed through the fence and collapsed. On closer inspection, it turned out to have horrible wounds in its neck. We called the RSPCA, who collected it, but seemed pessimistic about its chances.
Is it possible it was attacked by other badgers, or was this likely to be a dog attack? More importantly, is there any chance (or risk) that there are young badgers in the sett? We stupidly failed to ask the RSPCA if our animal was a male or female.
Finally, I have to confess that we were initially unsure about how we felt about having a badger; having seen it, I find myself wondering how we could co-exist with any which survive. I’ve found a good list of plants badgers like, and would be happy to plant them. Are there any plants they don’t like, and which we might get our share of?
Many thanks,
Charlie
Hi Charlie – thanks for your comment
It’s a sad tale about your badger. Perhaps the RSPCA could confirm the sex if you asked them. If it is a female then there may be cubs underground, but even if that were the case then, truthfully, there is very little you could do. There is no real or practical help that you could give, so try not to worry about it. It’s part of the cycle of things.
As to the wounds, there could be a number of causes. Dogs may injure badgers like this, but they usually give each other a wide berth unless forced into a confrontation. Snares can cause nasty neck injuries, so that may be a possible cause. It could well have been the result of a fight with another badger, as these can get quite nasty too. Badgers will fight within a clan and with members of other clans. I don’t have much experience of this, but the literature records a peak in fights between male badgers in February and March, which could be significant. I’d need to go back to the books and see if neck injuries are consistent with badger fights. I know that bites to the rump are a classic inter-badger injury, but I can’t remember if this is specific to female badgers only. Again, perhaps the RSPCA have more experience than me.
If you’re wondering about living alongside badgers, this seems to be down to personal taste. I’d love them in my garden, but they do cause damage in the form of holes, stripped back turf etc. Having said that, I am convinced that most people live in closer proximity to badgers than they realise. Badgers are very good at staying un-noticed, unless they find an easy food source in your garden. On that subject, badgers will eat plants (if that’s what you’re asking) but are generally carnivores. I’ve known them to eat wheat, barley, cherries, blackberries, apples and elderberries, and I’m sure other people could add to the list. But these are mostly foods of opportunity that have a glut in the autumn, or that are available when the usual food – earthworms – is more scarce in the summer. Put another way, I haven’t heard (yet) of badgers raiding gardens to eat the plants.
I hope this helps, and I hope the story of your badgers has a happy ending.
All the best
BWM
Over the weekend a large hole has appeared under a conifer hedge at my daughter’s school.. there are lots of small bits of grey fur around the entrance and of course lots of loose earth. My first thought was either foxes or badgers and with the size and speed of digging I now am leaning towards Badger, there are 2 downsides to this being a sett, one it is in a playground and secondly the school keep chickens in a run less than 2 metres away from this dig!
The chickens have a wire mesh floor to the run and the house is on top of paving slabs… they have been there now since September and nothing appears to have attempted to break in to date.
Any help would be appreciated in how to manage the situation.
Thank you
Hi Jennie
Sounds interesting. It’s difficult to say what could be living in the hole, but it isn’t usual to find fur outside badger setts. Foxes will bring back prey to their earths, so that may be a possibility. See if you can smooth the soil down and get tracks.
If it is a badger, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad news. I know of two setts in school grounds around here where the kids and badgers seem to get on fine (badgers being nocturnal, and kids not, they don’t ever meet). As to the chickens, I know that badgers will break into chicken coops and kill chickens, but I’m convinced it’s a rare occurrence. I think foxes are a much greater danger, but it sounds like you have a good secure run.
Anyway, first things first. I’d see if you can get any tracks and confirm the occupants. Then you’ll be in a better position to decide what to do.
Hope this helps
All the best
BWM
Hi Badger watching man
My wife and me were walking our dog this evening and we went off the track we usaully go along and started walking through the woodland which is on the side of a hill on the north chilterns, The woodland started to get a bit awkward to get through but we kept going then we came to a small clearing first i saw a mound of chalk i would estimate about two bulk bags at least 1 1/2 ton of fairly fresh chalk the hole above this was about 2ft in diameter, as we started to look arond we found another 5 entrances some were fresh some were old there was claw marks on the lumps of chalk. Sounds silly but we were both quite excited with our find. Question we wanted to know is how old do you think this site could be the woodland along the chiltern edge has not been touched for years.
Have been looking at your site since we come home and found it very intresting we will be looking out for the badgers in the coming months and will let you know.
thanks Barry & Jenny
Hi Barry and Jenny – welcome!
Sounds like a good old sett. I’ve no idea how old it could be, but there is documented evidence of badger setts being hundreds of years old. Over time they can re-shape whole sections of hillside and some of the spoil heaps can be very impressive indeed. The claw marks on the lumps of chalk is a nice find.
Anyway, you know what to do. Let the dog have an evening off one day and get out and watch! If you’ve not seen one up close before, the sight of the first stripey face appearing out of the hole is an unforgettable experience!
All the best
BWM
Dear Badger Watching Man,
I am a Grandfather of 10. Seventeen years ago I was taking my 3 year old Grandson for a nature walk through the woods near the Mississippi River in SE Minnesota. I was informing him that if we were real quiet and walked softly, we would be able to see some amazing animals. The words were barely out of my mouth when we spotted a huge badger about 2 feet from us near it’s sett entrance. We crouched down and watched this wonderfull creature move about, dissapear, then come out again. This was my first and last close encounter with this beautiful animal.
I was reminded of my readings about Tom Brown Jr. who was raised by a displaced Apache Shaman named “Stalking Wolf”. In one of Brown’s books (I think is was “Grandfather” by Tom Brown Jr.) he describes watching Grandfather sitting outside a sett very quietly until the badger emerged and retreated several times. After much nervous movement the badger eventually approached Grandfather who spoke softly to the animal. After a couple of hours of sniffing out Grandfather and sensing his gentle presence, the badger allowed Grandfather to start touching, and eventually the animal rolled on it’s back and allowed Grandfather to rub it’s stomach while it fell asleep. Since I have had many remarkable close encounters with eagles, deer and other critters, I had no difficulty believing the story. Apparently Tom Brown offers trainning on how to replicate this kind of experience.
Tom Brown Jr. has written 8 books. If you are not already familiar with him, he can be googled at “The Tracker” website or by mail at P.O.box 173, Asbury, NJ 08802-0173.
Thank you for your sharings, Denis
Hi
thank you for sharing your information. I have a family off badgers in my garden, I’ve seen 6 at one time, so not really sure how many there are altogether.
One is quite tame, I can call him & hand feed him! He kept trying to come inside the house, so I have to be careful when I open the door.
I wondered if I would ever see a baby & 2 nights ago they bought their baby over, he is so cute, like a little ball of grey fluff!!
I feel so blessed to have all this going on, I don’t need nght cameras or any special equipment…. I just sit & watch : )
Hi Denis – thanks for sharing your close encounter. There is something special about coming face to face with a wild animal that leaves a lasting impression. What a great experience for your Grandson.
I’ve read a few of Tom Brown’s books, and I think they’re good. Any student of tracking should read them, although I’m not sure about the usefulness of his more technical ideas about track structures. I like the principle, but I’m not sure that it works in practice.
Just my humble opinion though, and I’m happy to be proved wrong. One of these days I will buy his Field Guide to Nature Observation, which looks to be a good book.
All the best
BWM
Hi Jill, and welcome
I am very jealous of your badgers in your garden. I know it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if it means you can really get to know them then I think it’s great, especially if you can just sit and watch.
I hope you continue to enjoy them for a long time to come!
All the best
BWM
I have been told I have a badger sett on my land I have never seen any signs that say it’s still in use. Do badgers come back to old disused seetts.
Hi Phil, and welcome!
Good question! A sett may contain both active and inactive holes, so it is possible that part of the sett is disused while other parts are still occupied around the corner. So a disused hole is pretty common.
On the other hand, badgers may abandon a sett entirely due to dying/being killed/driven off etc. In this case I think that sooner or later another lot of badgers will move in. I’ve heard of this happening, where previously unoccupied setts came back to life.
The thing is, I think that over most of lowland Britain, badgers are far more common than most people realise. In most rural areas it is safe to assume that all the land you see is part of the territory of one sett or another. As setts expand some badgers leave to find new pastures, and any half-decent site will sooner or later be occupied unless there’s a good reason why badgers don’t live there (i.e. it’s poisonous or something).
So yes, my long-winded answer is that badgers probably do come back to old setts, either the same badgers or different ones. If you’re interested, keep looking for the signs.
Hope this helps in some way
All the best
BWM
Talking of badger poo. I almost stepped in a large pile of it yesterday, in the lane to Hoo Wood, just outside my house. It’s a horrible colour and it stays about for ages – the badger poo I’m talking about, not my house.
Hi Mike
Very true, as I found out from experience.
Actually, I found myself thinking about badger poo one day, and how the badgers use it as a marker for the clan territory. I wondered if the badgers would smell the poo on my boots and recognise me as a member of the clan by the scent, thereby accepting my presence.
And then I stopped this train of thought. I do like my badgers, but I’m not going to roll in poo just to get a closer look. Not yet, anyway…
All the best
BWM
Badgers, being such clean creatures, relatively speaking of course, would probably be revolted if confronted by a giant badger sporting poo on its shoes/paws. I think you would be better off paying attention to wind direction, taking advantage of the badger’s poor eyesight, and being aware of what time your badger goes out in the evenings. Being creatures of habit, they are ideal creatures to catch in a camera trap.
Hi
I have a badger set in my garden and they come out at around 9.30 every evening for their feast of crunchy nut cornflakes and peanut butter sandwiches.
This is as much a treat for us as it is for them.
Hi Badger Watching Man. Have just read your excellent article and all the following comments and have learned a lot. We have a large garden (1 acre plus an adjoining paddock of the same size all of which is surrounded by fields where cattle and horses graze. We have seen signs of badgers over the years (scraping out a wasp nest in the grass, eating the fallen plums off a tree near the house, etc.) but this week a large latrine hole has been dug in some soil in a flower bed which had recently been dug over and is therefore nice and easy to scrape. We have looked around for signs of a sett in one of the Devon banks surrounding our land, paths or scapes without success, so are not sure where they are living. Could the new latrine be a sign that they are moving in to our garden? Whilst we are happy to coexist with badgers, I have a lot of flowers and shrubs and my husband has a very big vegetable plot further down the garden. We have heard that badgers love corn on the cob and we have a very good crop this year but, strangely, it hasn’t been touched …. yet! I would be interested to hear your comments.
Ann
Thanks you so much for this. I had to go looking for badgers for my uni work and this was just so amazingly helpful! I saw all of these signs when out in the woods and got so ridiculously over excited every time i saw them so again thank you so much
Hi Hannah – glad you found it useful. I actually thought long and hard before posting the guide, what with the possibility of badger persecution
and all, but in the end I decided that the more people who knew about their local badgers, the better.
At the time, I never knew there were university courses that involve looking for badgers. Sounds like an interesting course!
All the best
BWM
BWM
hi I’ve spotted what I think is a badger but its more whiteish-grey than black or grey seems to have stripes on its face and a bit of a tail. its been normally quite late say 1am and its on my housing estate. There are some woods nearby and lots of farmland so I guess that is where it came from. It seemed to be slurping along the grass before running further into the estate (leafy, lots of grass, trees, gardens etc).
So my question is if it is a badger why so white? old age? it is normally by itself.
thx
Hi there, and welcome
It sounds very much like a badger, definitely badger habits too. Like most animals there are albino badgers, they are quite rare, but people do see them. The pictures I’ve seen show albinos to be strikingly white, so yours may not be one (or it may have been dirty!).
Neal and Cheeseman in their classic book say that some setts have more albinos than others, which makes sense from a genetic point of view. Apparently Dorchester in Dorset is notable for them. They also say that there are ‘semi albino’ badgers, who are pale with light brown stripes on the face. Does this match yours? If so, it’s quite a rare beast.
Hope this helps. If you have any pictures, feel free to send them along.
All the best
BWM
Hi,
I have just moved into a house in surrounded by fields, I noticed a couple of holes about the size of a cup around a bottom of my tree, I left them and thought I would keep an eye on them. Yesterday my partner went to the bottom of the garden where it is quite muddy and fell through a hole which opened up. When he looked into the hole it looks like an open space underneath. My boss said it is probably a badger sett. I am just a bit worried because if it is badgers I don’t want to disturb them, but I have 2 dogs and I was worried they might try and go down the holes or that the ground will open up more. What would your advice be?
Many thanks
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte, and welcome
You could have a badger sett, or it could be rabbit or a fox hole. It’s often difficult to tell. My first question would be whether it is active – whether there are any animals in residence. Fresh spoil outside is one sign, as are tracks. You could try putting some sand or loose earth around any holes and then checking for tracks, or placing small sticks over holes and seeing if they get brushed aside. You’d need to do this for all the holes in the area to be sure
If it is a badger sett, and it is active, then you shouldn’t disturb it. Not only is this bad for the badgers, it is against the law. If you do find evidence of badgers, then my advice would be to contact your local badger group. Every county has one.
If you can show that the hole is unoccupied (i.e. you can show that you have monitored it for tracks, dung etc) then you can cover it over or fill it in. But I stress that you should be positive it is empty first. Again, your local badger group will probably be happy to have a look and help you to check. We tend to be nosy and love poking around in woods.
In the meantime, I wouldn’t worry about your dogs too much for now. Most dogs are sensible about going down holes, apart from a few breeds of working terrier.
I hope this helps
All the best
BWM
Do rabbits use vacant badger holes, our jack russel dog went down a hole, she has got herself stuck, i tried digging near the entrance, where i notest the holes getting alot bigger so i stopped digging, the rspca wont do anything before the first 48 hours. Because they think it might be a active set, ther was no signs of activity when i started digging of course it shore looks like badgers have bean clearing the enterance now. Any help would be great we just want our dog back it was 3-4 pm yesterday that she got stuck thanks
Mr & mrs sloat from sidley east sussex.
Good news maisey the jack russel came home at 3.15 am she must have released herself and ran home in the dark the hole was about amile from our house im so happy. Bye
i have just bought a house with a large overgrown garden which borders a river,
i am clearing out the garden and have found a group of holes in the far corner of the garden beside the river. they look too big to be rabbit or fox holes. the previous owner has dumped a load of twigs, branches and grass cuttings there which i am clearing out. i am worried that i might be disturbing whatever is living there. tried the stick over hole test and definitely something there. since the house is not currently habitable i am not going to be there at sunset to try and identify what is there. anyone give me any suggestions or advice?
Hi Mogsie, and thanks for writing in
It sounds like an interesting house and an interesting garden! Badgers tend to prefer dry spots, but I’ve heard of enough setts in odd places not to be surprised by anything.
You know the holes are active, which is a great start. Have you seen any other badger signs? Big spoil heaps, paths and latrine sites are the obvious ones. I would suggest the next steps are to record what’s coming in and out. The modern, hi-tech way is with a trailcam, which gives you definite (but expensive) results. The other, simpler way is with a track trap. Since I don’t possess a trailcam this is the method I prefer. Besides, simple is good. Smooth a patch of loose earth outside the holes. If necessary, spread a little sand or fine earth. Next day, have a look at the tracks there. There’s only a few animals that tend to live in holes, so it should be easy to identify the tracks after a quick browse on the internet.
It isn’t foolproof – rain can spoil tracks, or the hole may not be used every night. But it’s easy to do and pretty definite.
Hope this helps – let me know how you get on.
All the best
BWM
Hi BWM
I located a large badger sett a couple of months ago. Judging by the size, amount of entrances and digging it must be very old. The location is tracked extensively, which was particularly evident in the snow, and I set up a camera trap to see if I could get anything. I now have a mass of footage and know that there are at least 4 badgers living there. I know the time they appear so next plan is to sit out and watch from a distance.
I am yet to capture any footage of cubs. They may be using another hole, I guess, but surely they should have come out by now? Is it just possible that none have been born this year?
Thanks
Michael
Hi Badgerman,
I work as a land surveyor and frequently come across badger setts which need recording as you know they have a large bearing upon planning for new developments etc. I recently built my own bungalow in Carmarthenshire and on surveying the land for the design stage found a sett in my rear boundary. Since moving in a year ago the sett has been enlarged considerably and now covers some 15 – 20 linear meters along my rear hedge. There are also one or two solitary holes, possibly foxes which I have sighted once or twice. Haven’t seen badgers yet but have heard them playing at dawn a couple of times. Waiting for wind to be in the right direction and am going to sit up with video camera and see what emerges. Very interesting.
John
Hi Michael – thanks for writing in. Sorry for the delay in replying. Events may have overtaken me by now.
In short, I’d expect to see cubs by mid-May, but it depends on how thoroughly the sett is under observation. For the first few weeks the cubs will stick to their own hole, so it is possible that this could be missed. To give you an idea, last year I didn’t see a cub until autumn – my inconsistent watching, not the badgers’ fault.
Good luck with sitting out at watching. I hope you have some great experiences!
All the best
BWM
Hi John – thanks for writing in
That sounds like an enviable situation – your own property with badgers en-suite! Interesting about the outlying holes. This is still one of the things about badger setts I still don’t fully understand.
Good luck with your watching – I hope it turns out well!
All the best
BWM
I have to say, what a great site, thank you but I am also slightly perturbed by your article on how to find badgers. There are people in this country who are so cowardly that they feel the need to kill these beautiful creatures. I think this kind of information should be more carefully dispensed if I’m honest.
Hi, I have just moved into a rented bungalow with a medium size overgrown garden and to my excitement have found an active badger sett in the top corner and a freshly used latrine down the side of the property where our bedroom windows look out on. While this is fantastic to have badgers living in our garden, my question is do they make any noise? I have a one year old daughter and I’m a bit concerned they would scare her if she heard a strange and scary noise outside her bedroom window. Actually it might scare me too so I’d like to be prepared!
Hi,
I’m trying to find out where the oldest recorded badger sett in the country is. Would anybody be able to help me?
Thank you!
Kate
Fab and very informative site, which has left me wanting more. For a few weeks now our food recycling bin has been tipped up and strewn across the yard. On hearing the racket the other night we put the light on outside to find a badger. We were amazed. We have had deer rabbits, foxes hedgehogs but a badger we weren’t expecting. We have named it stumpy because it only has 3 legs, front leg seems to be injured and curled up underneath it. We put out cat food for it and set it challenges to make him work for the food and alert us to when it turns up so we can see it. Absolutely awesome. Huge woodland area behind our house so intend trying to find the sett. Have informed the police we have badgers and will be keeping an eye on people using the footpath next to our house.
HHi we have shed in the garden raised off ground and boarded around base. At the rear of shed,the private part, there is a hole in wood surround ‘ and clearly a hole under shed floor. The hole has been blocked with leaves etc from inside. There is r holes nearby also behind shed . they r 14 . 18 inches across and a foot or slightly shallower deep. A large pile of dirt at base of hole. No footprints visible although scrape marks but it has been raining atad I thought fox because I did find a dead one in shed that had mange about 18 myths ago. Do u think I have badgers
I bought a 7 acre grazing field in Oct 2012 for my pet bullocks which has a brook on the west side and a strip of mature woodland along the west and northwest sides.
There are several well worn animal paths across the field which has not had livestock on it for a long time (just used for hay crops) and one led me to a several holed badger sett in the woodland! How exciting to have badgers on my own land – and I’m a first time landowner!
The setts are in a wooded bank that slopes down to the brook so it’s a typical badger spot from your info.
Obviously I will be a bit apprehensive about any contact they could have with my bullocks from a potential TB point of view, but before they move there I will fence the bullocks in a way to minimise contact opportunities without disturbing the many paths of the badgers or their sett.
As further confirmation, I heard and briefly saw a flash of a badger in the woodland strip at lunchtime today.
Thank you! I have recognized all the points to look for and now know that i have a badger set on the edge of the wood behind our house. They did dig under our fence this winter and i still didn’t catch a glimpse. Sadly on Sunday morning i found that the set had been dug into from two sides, one of the holes was huge and the culprits had replaced the turf. I felt sick to think that these horrible butchering thugs had probably released terriers down into the set. I have reported my findings to the RSPCA but as yet an officer has not been to inspect. I spoke to our local shepherd and he saw a vehicle near the site on the Saturday afternoon. The site was active as the badgers had been digging under the oak trees for worms etc. a few days before. Sadly now instead of viewing a site of peaceful wonder i am left with a mental image of one of the most cruel and barbaric blood sports and i wonder if they have survived or if their souls have taken residence above as surely God must love a badger
I have recently watched a badger attacking my chickens and we have even lost a few ducks which i think was probably the same badger, is this normal behaviour or do i have a rouge badger, I have been living in the countryside for 7 years and though the fox has done a few I was amazed to see the badger at it!! Whats its problem?
hi ya. i live in surrey next too a small ancient ancient woodland. to my knoledge there are three setts within it. one is quite noticeable from a main path. my question is, i have a jack russell terrier and he quite often investigates the holes, but never goes down them. like all jackies he thinks he rules the world. does he know not too go down these setts?(i do hope so)