Well, here's results so far of the first part of my experiment...5 bags of pine mulch was applied, just in certain areas the armadillo has hit in the past. Last night one showed up...and did no digging in any area with the fresh pine mulch. It dug a little in the pathways and then dug a hole a couple inches deep right up against a plant that I planted less than a month ago...with regular mulch around it. I put the soil back, put some pine mulch around it and watered. It should be okay...it's a woody plant and not small. Now, I'll buy more pine mulch and cover more areas! I'd like to get some pine straw, but don't know any place that sells it. In the past, I had gotten a bit of that while visiting in east Texas and brought it back to use around plants that like more acid soil.
