Digger Zombie

The Digger Zombie is a Zombie that burrows beneath the yard using its pickaxe, eventually emerging on the left side of the lawn to attack your plants from behind. It pauses for a few seconds after resurfacing before proceeding to eat your plants. It is not present on Roof levels, as there is no soil to dig through, but does appear nonetheless on XBLA/PS3's co-op Roof level. Without advance preparation, they have the potential to do devastating damage to rows of plants. It is first encountered in the Fog levels. Note that as it eats the plants from left to right, it never makes an attempt to get into the homeowner's house.

Suburban Almanac Entry
 Digger Zombie 

This zombie digs to bypass your defenses.

Toughness: medium

Speed: fast, then slow

Special: tunnels underground and appears on the left side of the lawn

Weakness: split pea and magnet-shroom

Digger Zombie spends three days a week getting his excavation permits in order.

Overview
Absorbs 15 normal damage shots. Appearance changes occur after 2, 4, 5, and 10 normal damage shots and dies after 15 normal damage shots.

Strategy
You can use Magnet-shrooms to steal the zombie's pick so it can't dig. When a magnet-shroom steals a pickaxe, the digger will pause, a question mark will appear over its head, and he will surface and advance as usual. But however, this is not a valid strategy against it if you are solely picking a weapon against it, as it sometimes, especially in survival hard, there is a possibility of it bypassing as the Magnet-shroom recharges, and it has the chance to cause it to eat your brains if it steals its pickaxe when it transverses behind your main attacking forces. Also, try using Potato Mines, as they explode if he digs underneath them. However, make sure they are armed, or else they will be eaten. Alternately, place Gloom-shrooms or Spikerocks at the back of the lawn, or use Split Peas, Starfruit, and/or Cattails to kill it if it reaches to the left side of the lawn. You can also use Pumpkins on your back row allowing your other plants more time to kill it. Instant-kills, especially the Jalapeno, are good in emergencies. A Magnet-shroom that has just refreshed may snatch the Digger Zombie's mining pick while it is in the middle of your plants, forcing him out of the ground in an inconvenient location. Having a Pumpkin, Ice-shroom, or Jalapeno available can counter this situation. In Survival: Endless (or similar levels with many Digger Zombies), the Gloom-shroom (you can use only two to save space for other plants) or Spikerock setups are the best to take care of them, because your Magnet-shrooms, Split Peas, Cattails, and/or Starfruits won't be able to keep up, making them almost useless and creating a necessity to remove them, and saving space. Note that explosive Instants can kill Digger Zombies while they are mining, so Doom-shrooms make very short work of them due to the large area, although other Instants Kills like the Squash, do not work while they are underground. However, the easiest, (but slowest) way to take care of them is to use Potato Mines, due to them exploding as soon as a Digger Zombie goes beneath one, and how they can be set up in advance. Also, if a Chomper is planted on the square one emerges from, it can eat it. In I, Zombie, you can use this zombie to destroy lanes that have no offensive plants that attack other lanes or backwards (Threepeaters, Starfruit, Split Peas), although inconvenient, they can still be used in these rows. Rows with Squashes, Magnet-shrooms, or Potato Mines are effectively impervious. You can use pumpkins on your back row and kill the zombies with split peas.



Trivia

 * The Digger Zombie can lose either its left or right arm.
 * In the DS version the Digger Zombie has a weird hitbox as when he stands on a Spikeweed he doesn't react until near the edge when eating a plant.
 * The Zombie, Zomboni, the Digger Zombie, the Catapult Zombie, Screen Door Zombie, Bungee Zombie, Balloon Zombie, the Gargantuar, and the Imp are the only Zombies that have their body shape when they blow up.
 * Even after the Digger Zombie surfaces, a Magnet-shroom can still steal its pickaxe, which is good for the zombies as the Magnet-shroom has to refresh.
 * The Digger Zombie (if it reaches the left side of the lawn by digging), the Zombie Yeti (when not hypnotized), the Bungee Zombie, and Dr. Zomboss are the only zombies that don't target your house.
 * The Digger Zombie is the only zombie that will not change directions when in contact with a Hypno-shroom, it will simply continue going forward while hypnotized, unless the the player steals its pickaxe while it is digging. Zombie_digger_hardhat.png
 * The Digger Zombie's helmet is available in the Xbox Live Marketplace as a hat for your avatar. It costs 160 Microsoft Points.
 * Zombie_digger_hardhat2.png Digger Zombie can eat defensive plants with ladders on them, as the ladders are on the opposite side from it.
 * The Digger Zombie arguably has a softer side to him.
 * He has a penchant for pink tricycles in the music video Zombies On Your Lawn.
 * He doesn't eat the owner's brains, he only eats the plants of the owners.Zombie_digger_hardhat3.png
 * Digger_Potato.jpg with Newspaper Zombie, he is one of the two zombies that can have a question mark over their head.
 * Diggers.JPG Digger Zombie, the Snorkel Zombie, and the Balloon Zombie are the only zombies that lack a shoe. This, however, excludes Zombie Yeti, Jack-in-the-Box Zombie and Imp, that don't wear shoes, and Dr. Zomboss because his feet is invisible.
 * When the Digger Zombie dies when leaving the house, its head will fall of facing the opposite direction. This also happens to the Zombie Yeti when it is running away.
 * The Digger Zombie has overalls and a red shirt similar to Nintendo's mascot, Mario.