Armadillos are back

They’re an icon of the Southwest. Unfortunately, they’re also native to the 11-acre Sperry pecan forest. They forage at night, and it’s not uncommon to have one run past you as you’re coming in from the car or taking the dog out for a walk. Our family and visitors from the North think they’ve left civilization.

So, the trap is set one evening last night. You can see that the doors are suspended in the “Up” position, held in place by the kite twine. Will they be triggered that night? *All images are clickable for a larger view.*

As wild animals go, armadillos don’t do a lot of direct damage. They don’t feed on our trees, and they don’t eat our peaches or tomatoes. But they plow through our landscapes and lawngrasses and, in the process, they do hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars of damage to otherwise beautiful gardens.

**One of my readers of my old Facebook page posted this photo years ago showing damage done by a couple of rummaging armadillos. They’re not as bad as feral hogs, but they’re really aggravating.**

They’re not necessarily looking for grub worms. Sure, they may feed on them if they encounter them, but armadillos seem to do their work randomly. I’ve decided they choose our landscape because we’re one of only a few who irrigate in the summer. Digging at Neil’s house is known in armadillo circles to be easier than diffing down the road where the ground hardens like plaster.

Here’s how I cope…
I start watching the bare ground and new plantings by mid-May for signs of their overnight scratchings. They leave behind little snout-sized holes where they’ve begun digging a hole.

**Armadillos think that they’re “bulletproof.” They’ll run right in front of you. This one stood and looked at me as if to taunt me.**

About that same time, we may see them scurrying around in the yard. If I do, I try to sneak up behind them to startle them. They don’t turn and attack, so that’s not a concern. What I want to see is where they head when they’re seeking protection. Armadillos are always going to have a hole into which they burrow, usually beneath of large rock, the foundation, or way back under a shrub. You need to see where they go, because that’s going to determine the next step.

Once you locate the hole, erect a funnel-shaped arrangement of fencing. It need not be tall -in– remember that armadillos can’t climb, jump, or fly. A couple of lengths of 18-in. chicken wire is all that you’ll need. Stake it in place so the armadillos can’t run around.

Arrange the fence in a V-shaped funnel with your humane trap in the middle. Your friend will encounter the fence, then bumble along the fence until it finds its way to the opening (the trap). As it enters the trap it will trigger the spring. Don’t leave it sitting in the sun. Carry it out several miles to its point of release. Look for a nature preserve that gives such permission, or go to a Corps of Engineers floodplain where it can live out its life peacefully. Don’t dump your problem onto other gardeners or farmers.

A radio listener brought one of the first traps he ever made for me to try. We’ve made several since and we’ve been very successful in capturing more than 100 armadillos without harming any. I’m not a hunter. I prefer to “catch and release” where they won’t bother anyone else.

This method really works. The trap you see in my photo and one other we have made have successfully captured more than 100 armadillos in the 35 years since a gentleman brought me one he had made.

Here’s our trap the next morning. Success! Doors are shut, and we had a nice chubby armadillo ready to take a ride to a spot 10 miles away where he could be released into a protected area away from gardeners, farmers, and traffic.

You might also use one of the Havahart humane traps. I’ve had good results with them when I needed to capture a raccoon that was repeatedly tearing holes in my greenhouse plastic in winter. Probably the same size would work for an armadillo.

Posted by Neil Sperry