I was wondering when they'd be back! They disappeared, I assume, because of the drought and predators. Now I've got a bunch of holes that were dug in the yard again. I was never successful in catching any in traps before, but maybe I'll try again (groan!). I'd be happy to relocate it/them far away! If only they weren't so destructive with the plants and soil...but they are!

Linda, I'm sure glad we don't have those around here, we do have yellow-bellied marmots that are just a few blocks from here, I don't want them in my garden, they eat everything in sight.

Some people really lose it when their landscape is bein destroyed! I can't imagine doing what this person did. But I'm trying to trap one! And I came home with some pine mulch today, because they don't seem to like it. More holes...just about every night.
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/p...

Linda, in a way I can't blame people for taking drastic action against the armadillos, they sure do make a mess.

LindaTX8 said:Some people really lose it when their landscape is bein destroyed! I can't imagine doing what this person did.
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/p...

As I crawled into bed, Dan admitted that he was originally skeptical and somewhat amused by my efforts, but after hearing the shots he figured my persistence and determination had paid off. He also assured me that further damage to the lawn may now be a thing of the past because many times, in instances like this, it is only a couple of armadillos that are causing that kind of destruction.

The Puckets are fooling themselves if they think there's only a couple...

Armadillos are an invasive exotic in Georgia, and they keep coming...

In my previous garden, I had endless problems, in spite of armadillo genocide, fencing, patrolling the garden every hour all night long... could not discourage those beasts...

I do have one garden where a couple of electric fence wires an inch above the soil, and a couple inches above that seems to be mostly working... So... if you can fence in the yard... might be a solution.

LindaTX8 said:I was wondering when they'd be back! They disappeared, I assume, because of the drought and predators.

They seem to hibernate during the winter... and during the drought, they hang out in low country (valleys and washes) destroying the fragile wetland ecosystems.

I did trap and relocate the big one I was having trouble with. Since then (crossed fingers), no problems. I have a fenced yard, but that doesn't stop them. They can DIG! I've long suspected there have been tunnels into the yard somewhere. I know there's a hole under the propane tank (outside the fence) and have tried to plug it up. There's also an older part of the fence that is wood and there's some room between the slats. We had one section of that old fence replaced with more solid wood fencing, but we haven't gotten around to redoing the rest.

Oh, no pictures of armadillos.

I took these pics a few days ago at about 6:15 AM, @Gleni.

Dug a hole & stuck its' head in.

Both ends:



He/she walked around the front for a bit, then went to the back. I opened the back door to watch & take pics & was completely ignored. When it came within about 3 feet of me, I said, "Hey, aren't you afraid of me?" It raised up on its back legs, did a little sniff thing, and boxed its' front arms around like a boxer trying to threaten an opponent. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, but message taken, no, not afraid, ready to throw down with me! If I'd realized what was to come, I would have woke up DH to handle it.

I've seen very minor signs of digging all summer, a little swipe here, a little there, no big deal... but never in the lawn, always in beds. But night-before-last, this (insert expletive of choice) thing tore up half of my new bed in the front. Ripped up the plants, slung the dirt, mangled a shrub I'd propagated.

If this stupid thing can't dig up grass, which would be fine with me, it's got to go. I love critters and don't have anything against armadillos in general, but this one seems especially stupid and doesn't belong in town anyway. Nobody's encroached on its' territory around here by building something for decades. Surrounded by rural area. It's encroaching on my territory.

Tiffany, that is a very destructive critter and I would be pretty mad at it too. Maybe try trapping it and relocating it far away from your property.

I think he looks fantastic. What amazing armour.

Please avoid relocating these horrific beasts.
I don't want them at my house, and trapping them makes them more difficult for the next person.
As mammals, they learn from their experiences... And while that one might seem stupid, but they get smart quick once we start trying to discourage them... And never stop the destructive behavior.
If you want to relocate them.. Maybe take them back to TX where they belong.

AFAIK, it's illegal to relocate any wild animals in AL.

As a small consolation - armadillos are digging for food and will devour fire ants and termites from tunnels in your yard. They also love grubs of all kinds, including destructive beetle grubs.

If they'd just dig in other areas outside of my planted beds, I'd give them a pass and let them alone. But it's mostly the beds, and they do dig things up repeatedly until the plants are dead. Fences don't keep them out, nothing does, apparently! I wouldn't kill them, but I try to trap them when it gets too bad! Usually, it does no good...they just avoid the traps.

In one night the newest large salvia was dug up, the new daylily my DD sent me (which had put up a scape and was about to bloom) was dug up, a medium evergreen sumac was dug up except for a single intact root (last time it had 2 roots still attached) and it dug around near a hop tree, a milkweed, a moonflower vine, and a few other things! SO angry! I had relocated one armadillo last fall and was so happy to have peace in the garden for a while. I'm putting out a trap, but it's very hard to trap them! Such a mess! The only reason that sumac couldn't be completely dug up was because it was well-established out there in limestone rocks and native soil (which isn't really true soil, it's more like almost rock when dry...called caliche).

Sorry about the mess that critter created in your garden Linda.

Is it just me, or does it seem like they are particularly attracted to newly planted beds?? Or maybe it's the new plants?

YES! They do. Not sure exactly why, maybe because it's watered more, or newly dug or amended soil is just easier to dig in. They don't want the plants...they eat earthworms, other worms or insects in the soil. But I've seen it happen too often, when they'll go more for the newly planted or amended areas.

Maybe they could be trained to clear land mines.

HMMMMM....saw this hole in the Memory Garden on Maya's grave yesterday....don't think it was there the day before. I'm thinking gopher tortoise burrow or perhaps rabbit warren. BUT now I'm wondering if it might be an armadillo. Any thoughts on who is the digger??