skip to main content

Vegetable Gardening

Armadillo in the Asparagus bed!

14 years ago

For 3 nights I have had an armadillo digging up my Asparagus bed. DH put a live trap out last night near one of the places it dug under a peach tree. I suggested putting it on the asparagus bed...it had the worst damage. After seeing what it did last night, DH put it in the asparagus bed for tonight. He went online and read what they eat and rounded up some of the items and put in the live trap.

Any suggestions on getting rid of it.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

veggiefaery
14 years ago
When I lived in FL, the armadillos got into everything. But mostly I saw them dead on the side of the road.

I put up a fence to keep the rabbits out. It works great. Armadillos are a lumbering type of animal that aren't likely to make it over a fence too easily. Maybe their tank bodies might plow through a fence not securely installed, but I would think your asparagus would have to be extra good for the armadillo to make that type of effort.
west_texas_peg
Original Author
14 years ago
Not the first time we have had damage from Armadillos; previous damage was to flowerbed...dug up some of my perennials. We have a chainlink fence which does not keep them out.

Peggy
Related Discussions
Asparagus bed, What do you use for mulch?
Q
Comments (28)
The absolute BEST mulch to use is cocoa shell mulch. Approximately 2 - 3 inches will keep most weeds down, and there's no ill effect upon the soil. Lasts for a couple of years before it needs refreshing. The serious down side is that this stuff can be VERY poisonous to dogs, who are attracted by it's chocolatey fragrance. So I wouldn't use it unless you have a jump proof fence around your garden. Cocoa shell is somewhat available in the MD/PA areas, as a by product of Hershey's chocolate making process in PA. Not sure about other areas.
...See More
They're Back! Armadillo in my Flower Bed
Q
Comments (11)
We have skunks, possums, deer, commando attack bunnies from h*#@, and GROUNDHOGS! I live in the suburbs just west of Columbus and last year we dispatched two of those nasty beasts. Yesterday another one moved in under my dear neighbor Beverly's (aka Storygardener) deck. They are so destructive and that can be dangerous! Some suburbanties don't understand that they are vermin and want to relocate the buggers out to some poor unsuspecting farmer's fields. Good thing that Bev and I have no such delusions! I just couldn't make it any harder for a small farmer to make a living by loosing a destructive woodchuck on his property. Your metal armadillo is adorable! Groundhogs don't even make cute garden statues! I'm jealous! ~~Mimi
...See More
Asparagus grown in lawn, how to improvise bed situation THIS season?
Q
Comments (0)
The asparagus is grown in the lawn, and has been for at least three-quarters of a century, I'm told. In recent years, no attention has been given whatsoever, except maybe a stick stabbed in the ground (if someone remembers) to (hopefully) prevent unintentional harvest by lawnmower guillotine. According to Gran, production has declined in recent decades - surprise, surprise - and I'm looking to fix that. From my reading, best course of action is to prepare a new bed, dig and divide, and replant them all - which usually is done during dormancy, not active growth. So, what can I do NOW to help them along, in preparations to dig and divide at the end of the season? Or would replanting now in a proper bed be worth it, despite the negative effects of in-season disturbance? I had intended to transplant early this spring, and began digging to find one of the smallest and least productive clumps. Found the top of the crown more than a foot down, and, when the hole passed three feet in diameter and I hadn't found an end yet, realised that I had a project on my hands of a vastly larger scale than expected. Reburied, and stalks started appearing about a month ago - earlier than any of the other undisturbed clumps. I've pulled the big chunks of grasses that were within a few inches of old stalks or any new sprouts I've found. But I'm not sure how far out to extend my work. The "little" one I dug had previously only sprouted stalks (that we noticed and didn't lawnmow) within a square foot, but was at least three times that size beneath - and now is sprouting across the entire dug area. So far, the biggest patch has sprouts coming up over an area more than five feet across... How far past the outer growth should I be weeding? Soil is sandy, but moist, full sun. Z6 Massachusetts. THANK YOU!
...See More
New asparagus bed growing fronds instead of shoots.
Q
Comments (2)
The fronds as you call them are root growers that usually come along near the end of the harvest season. Leave these alone, anything smaller than a lead pencil or 1/2 inch in diameter should be left to grow. It normally takes 2-3 years for harvestable spears to appear, If you do get spears of 1/2 to 3/4 inch size go ahead and cut them no harm done.
...See More
Donna
14 years ago
True, they're unlikely to jump a fence, though it's not undeheard of, but they don't hesitate to dig under a fence. Of all God's critters, this one just might be my least favorite. They left us alone all winter for some reason, but they are back with a vengeance. I have a live trap built out of wood that is mighty effective. The trick is to get one that is already infused with armadillo scent. We tried all kinds of wire traps with all kinds of baits for years, and though we caught coons, possums, cats, you name it, we never caught an armadillo. I got my trap from the internet from a man here in Mississippi. Sorry I cannot, at this moment, remember the name of his business, but if you google for armadillo live traps, it may well pop up.
west_texas_peg
Original Author
14 years ago
Well, today DH bought a roll of chicken wire to put on our raised asparagus bed. I trimmed all the ferns and gathered what was large enough to eat...we rolled it on the bed and I put paving stones on top to hopefully hold it down until we can make or buy some 'staples'.

BUT it struck again last night...this time in a bed with peas and tomatoes...must have eaten the smallest tomato, it was gone completely. It checked out another raised bed I had just put together for 2 blueberry bushes...it was peat moss...perhaps it didn't like the smell because it did not dig in that bed.

I'm about ready to guzzle Big Red all day so I stay awake and can wait for that sucker with a shotgun! From what I read online they have their babies in the Spring...may be a mama looking for food for her lil ones. No skunk smell, so am pretty sure it is an armadillo.

Peggy

Related Stories

COOL-SEASON CROPS Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Asparagus

By Marianne Lipanovich

Patience pays off with this harbinger of spring that lasts for decades in the garden

FOLIAGE Great Design Plant: Foxtail Fern

By Annie Thornton

Not actually a fern, this vivid member of the asparagus family has a distinctive appearance to awaken a garden year-round

COMMUNITY Art, Edibles and Community Make Magic in a Pittsburgh Garden

By Lauren Piasecki/Black Cherry Design

With a name like Friendship, is it any wonder this neighborhood created such an enchanting community garden?

GARDENING GUIDES New Ways to Think About All That Mulch in the Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Before you go making a mountain out of a mulch hill, learn the facts about what your plants and soil really want

FARM YOUR YARD How to Farm Your Parking Strip

By Annie Thornton

Get an up-close look at a thriving street-side edible garden, one of many sprouting up in Seattle

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING World of Design: 10 Home Gardeners Show Us Their Sweet Summer Harvests

From New York to Tokyo, these gardeners have turned their yards, terraces and rooftops into places of bounty

SPRING GARDENING Summer Crops: How to Grow Strawberries

By Marianne Lipanovich

Pluck your own sweet strawberries right from the garden vine for smoothies, salads or eating then and there

TRAVEL BY DESIGN 11 Amazing Home-Away-From-Home Tree Houses Around the World

By Mitchell Parker

Go climb a tree — and spend the night. Tree house hotels and lodges are booming as exotic vacation alternatives

TRADITIONAL HOMES Houzz Tour: Redo Brings a 1720s London Home Into the Present

By Cathy Rebecca

Skillful renovation and an eclectic mix of art, antiques and furnishings update an 18th-century townhouse

BEDROOMS 14 Steps to a Perfectly Polished Bedroom

By Laura Gaskill

Go from procrastination to gorgeous presentation with our bedroom decorating guide that covers all the details

Sponsored

Castle Wood Carpentry, Inc

1 Review

Custom Craftsmanship & Construction Solutions in Franklin County

More Discussions

What are rabbits favorite veggies?

11

How often to add soil sulfur?

5

Al's Potting Mix-pine bark fines

6

How long do you harden off seedlings?

4

Planting beans in the same place twice in back to back year?

5