Digger Zombie

The Digger Zombie uses its pick to dig through the ground to the left side of the lawn, allowing it to attack the player's plants from behind. It is not present on Roof levels.

Overview
Absorbs 15 normal damage shots. Appearance changes upon absorption of 2, 4, 5, and 10 normal damage shots.

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.

Strategy
You can use Magnet-shrooms to steal the zombie's pick so it can't dig. Also, try using Potato Mines, as if it digs under the mine it dies. Alternately, place Gloom-shrooms or Spikerocks at the back of the lawn, or use Split Peas, Starfruit, and/or Cattails to kill it. You can also Pumpkin your back row allowing your other plants more time to kill it. Instants, especially the Jalapeno, are good in emergencies.

A Magnet-shroom that has just refreshed may snatch the Digger Zombie's mining pick while he 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 diggers), 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 save space).

In I, Zombie, you can use this zombie to destroy lanes of plants without any plants that attack other lanes and/or backwards (Threepeaters, Starfruit, Split Peas), although they can still be used in these rows; however rows with Squashes, Magnet-shrooms, or Potato Mines are effectively impervious.

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 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.

Trivia

 * Even after the Digger Zombie surfaces, a Magnet-shroom can still steal the pick.
 * It is the only zombie to move to the right on its own.
 * This also makes it the only zombie other than Dr. Zomboss unable to enter your house, unless the player steals its pickaxe while it is digging.
 * The Digger Zombie also has the slowest chewing rate of all zombies; however, its bites do twice the damage.
 * 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 hypnotized.
 * Digger Zombies will eventually eat every single plant in its way, including those with ladders, assuming it doesn't die.
 * Its movement is similar to the Gargantuar.
 * It has the weakest helmet in the game.
 * It is the only zombie (besides Giga-Gargantuar) that has red eyes.