skip to main content

Ask The Yard Doctor

I have an armadillo

18 years ago

I live in the gulf coast area of Texas. I have a BEAUTIFUL St. Augustine lawn, it looks great this year. But I have a little problem with an armadillo. They're sacred in this state, but boy do they tear up a lawn, and flowerbeds...how can I discourage them from hanging out in my yard? Does their presence mean that I have a grub problem or something similar?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

yarddoctor
18 years ago
Dear Newbie,

Thank you very much for your inquiry. I do not have much experience with Armadillos, but what I know is that stick piles are great habitats, so get rid of these. They have a wide diet, so it does not mean grubs. The live trap is the best way to get them out of the lawn. You may need to check with local authorities. The bait of choice is overripe fruit.

Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more.

Respectfully

Trey Rogers, The Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor, YardDoctor.com
dallasbill
18 years ago
My experience with armadillos in Dallas is they ARE looking for grubs when they invade a residential yard. As soon as we started doing nematodes last fall and this spring, our problems dropped by 9/10 and we only see it occasionally now.

Trapping a live armadillo is like hearding cats. I have caught 4 opossums, but the 'dillo still taunts us!
Related Discussions
Armadillo in the Asparagus bed!
Q
Comments (4)
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
...See More
Armadillos
Q
Comments (15)
Well I can vouch for the moth balls not working, I had already put them out before posting. I have replanted daylilies so many times they don't know what to do. Bricks on top of the roots didn't work. I got some old tomato cages that taper down to the ground and placed it around certain plants and those have stayed in place. Not feasible for large raised beds like I have. They also seem to attack the same beds so I'm thinking left over hog wire until they slack off. And they will slow down, it's just they are very active in the spring. Hog wire isn't attractive but what the hey!
...See More
A tipFor those that have trouble with armadillos
Q
Comments (14)
Disclaimer, I have not done this in "a day or two", remember, I'm fifth generation here ;-) Cool! Just don't touch them with your bare hands. I've heard and read that they carry leprosy. Don't know if this is a fact, but wouldn't want to take the chance. ...he said they taste great. He said it is like a cross between the taste of pork but the texture of chicken... We caught them every chance we could and did eat them, the leprosy concern is because their core temperature is lower than ours and the bacteria does well in that environment, you just have to be careful handling them when raw.... We would catch them by pouncing on them like a football, then slip our hands up underneath the shell in the midsection and pick them up so that they could not possibly get us with those sharp claws, beyond that I won't go into the extermination part of this story.... Their anatomy is most unusual, they have a leathery connection between the shell and the body, once this is removed and the shell separated from the body you'll find they are only about the size of a rabbit, really rather small compared to the whole. Regarding the taste, it's not quite rabbit or pork, and not quite chicken, more like gator tail and after cooking there is no fear of the bacteria causing leprosy...I enjoyed them best BBQ'd. Tom
...See More
Armadillo neighbor
Q
Comments (7)
I've never trapped any but other rehabbers have trapped them and brought them to me. I believe the way they did it, was put up a barrier than lead them to the trap. I have released several on my property and last year, I raised two batches of babies, five in all. This is a picture of Henry and Edsel just prior to being released in my yard. I do live on 50 acres, but I probably have as many flower beds as anyone here, and I have never found them to be a particular problem. The only problem I had with them was they could suck down about a dozen night crawlers per feeding, and since I couldn't raise enough to keep up, it got a little expensive feeding them.
...See More
Related Professionals
Forrest City Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Washington Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Macon Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Bowling Green Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Huntsville Landscape Contractors · Tallahassee Landscape Contractors · Cincinnati Landscape Contractors · Lawrence Landscape Contractors · Augusta Landscape Contractors · Hackettstown Landscape Contractors · Sterling Landscape Contractors · New Orleans Cabinets & Cabinetry · Charleston Cabinets & Cabinetry · New London Cabinets & Cabinetry · Allentown Cabinets & Cabinetry
dahlia_newbie
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks all for the ideas and advice. I'd read about the nematodes somewhere, but couldn't find anyone who'd actually used them. I'll give that a try, and call the county to see if they can grab the critter for me.

If all else fails, I may be forced to investigate more clandestine remedies. I seem to recall an incident from my childhood involving my father, a revolver, a lawn chair, some lone star beer and an all-night mission for revenge against a marauding dillo...I've said too much already.

Here, dillo, dillo, dillo.
paulinct
18 years ago
THAT will WORK!
cindie_maynard_gmail_com
18 years ago
I have an armadillo destroying my lawn and flowerbeds.
It has dug under my front steps and has burrowed under my house. I have treated the yard with diaz. granules and sprayed Malathone around the perimitor of my house. I have a Lab that the armadillo is driving her crazy like me.
I have left her out at night to try and chase the sucker away but I think he has taken up residency now.
therealheskett100_yahoo_com
16 years ago
they are grotesquely overpopulated in my area of west tennessee and have NO NATURAL PREDATORS that makes it a nature conservation issue. we see them littering the highways and that really bothers me. now hunting them and using their meat and hides does not, under the circumstances. so far i am the only one doing it but i have made it my personal mission to hunt them here in my little town of hornsby. this animal is native to central america and yet has managed to spread all the way to ONTARIO! in summation, population control down in texas, new mexico and other such areas where it SHOULD naturally occur means population control out here where they become a REAL menace. by the way, i suggest something a bit larger than a .22 unless you are REALLY good at head shots (hard to pull off on an animal that is 90% armor unless belly up) or just spot light them, get up close, flip them and spear them (my prefered method when hunting near roads or houses, with permission from neighbors. the meat tastes like pork and makes great bbq and the shell makes a lovely basket!~

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES 7 Ecofriendly Gardening Ideas That Also Cut Chore Time

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Spend less time weeding, less money watering and more moments just sitting back and enjoying your healthy garden

DECORATING GUIDES Discover the Rug Type Everyone Wants

By Nicole White Designs Interiors LLC

You can clean them quickly. They come in every color and pattern imaginable. You can score one cheap. Say hello to flat-weave rugs

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES Garden for Wildlife to Reap Rich Rewards

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

When you plant with animals and insects in mind, you make gardening easier, the planet healthier and yourself more present

PRODUCT PICKS Guest Picks: Heed Your Animal Instinct

By Yellow Brick Home

Avoid beastly dullness by bringing in the raw energy of animal prints, patterns and accessories

Bashful and Blush

By Becky Harris

GARDENING GUIDES Lush, Foodie Abundance in a Small Urban Garden

This modest backyard garden provides its owner with fruit and vegetables all year round, thanks to an innovative low-maintenance approach

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: Superclean Modern Suits a Canadian Bachelor

By Becky Harris

Colorful iconic furniture enhances a soothingly neutral palette in this midtown Toronto home for a businessman

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

TRAVEL BY DESIGN Travel Guide: Austin, Texas, for Design Lovers

By Jennifer Ott Design

You'll find fantastic food along with incredible art and architecture in this capital city, deep in the heart of Texas

HOLIDAYS Holiday Decorating: Natural Looks From Down Under

Native greens and craftsy touches give an Australian stylist's home festive flair with an organic feel

Sponsored

Peabody Landscape Group

8 Reviews

Columbus' Reliable Landscape Design & Contracting

More Discussions

What is doing this to my grass!?

0

coleus unhappy brown spot

0