Digger Zombie

The Digger Zombie uses its pickaxe to dig through the ground towards the left side of the lawn, allowing it to attack the player's plants from behind. It will pause for a few seconds before proceeding to eat your plants once it has resurfaced. It is not present on Roof levels, as there is no soil to dig through there. 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. It is suggested to put a Spikeweed or Spikerock as it won't damage your plants as much (the Spikerock kills it before it can do any damage).

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. 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.



Trivia

 * The Digger Zombie can lose either its left or right arm.
 * In the DS version (or more) the digger zombie has a weird hitbox as when he stands on a spikeweed he doesnt react until near the edge when eating a plant.
 * The Zombie, Zomboni, the Digger Zombie, the Catapult 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.
 * In Zombies on your Lawn music video, he says, "I like your tricycle".
 * 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 also has the slowest chewing rate of all zombies; however, its bites do twice the damage of that of other zombies (4 bites to eat most plants).
 * If the Digger Zombie is forced out of the ground via Magnet-shroom, it will walk at normal speed.
 * 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 Digger Zombie is on the other side of the lawn when it dies it turns around.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.
 * If you steal the pickaxe if the Digger Zombie is on the other side of the lawn it will turn around.Zombie_digger_hardhat2.png
 * The Digger Zombie must eat defensive plants with ladders on them, as the ladders are on the opposite side from it.
 * A Digger Zombie can eat an unarmed Potato Mine while underground.
 * Even without its pickaxe, the Digger Zombie's death animation is similar to its original Zombie_digger_hardhat3.png that has a pickaxe.
 * A Digger Zombie still can eat your brains when a Magnet-shroom steals his pickaxe.
 * The Digger Zombie can be killed by an explosive when it is still underground.
 * The Digger Zombie has the weakest headwear and also the weakest armor in the game.
 * The Digger Zombie's helmet seems to be made of plastic since a Magnet-shroom can't steal it.Digger_Potato.jpg
 * The Digger Zombie (while digging), the Ladder Zombie, the Balloon Zombie (while on its balloon), the Gargantuar, the Zomboni, and the Catapult Zombie are the only zombies that can get past a Tall-nut by itself without eating the plant.
 * It is unknown how the mining helmet can protect the Digger Zombie from projectiles and some plants like Spikeweed, as they mostly hit the other body parts except for Lobbed-shot Plants.
 * Along with Newspaper Zombie, he is one of the two zombies that can have a question mark over their head.
 * If the Digger Zombie gets to the end of the lawn, he will be dazed for a moment, which gives a great chance to kill him. But if you take his pickaxe, then he doesn't stumble when he comes up on the ground.Diggers.JPG
 * The Digger Zombie and the Balloon Zombie are the only zombies that lack a shoe. This, however, excludes Zombie Yeti and Imp, that don't wear shoes, and Dr. Zomboss because his feet is invisible.
 * Staying too long underground without seeing light may be the cause of its eyes being red.
 * But if the Magnet-shroom steals his axe right when he enter the screen, his eyes will still being red.
 * Maybe because his eyes hasn't heal yet.
 * In I, Zombie Mode exclusive to the DS and DSIware modes, there is sometimes a glitch in when the Digger Zombie reaches the back of the lawn, the back plant disappears and the Digger Zombies walks right through.
 * The Digger Zombie doesn't appear in the Roof, however, in XBLA version, it appears in Co-op Roof.
 * Digger Zombies can scare Scaredy-shrooms even while they're underground.