OK, y'all gave me excellent advice this past Spring with my feral hog issues......now I have another issue - pesky armadillos that are tearing the living heck out of my new landscaping in front of my house. They probably love the soft new loam and mulch.

I have used three bags of that stuff that is supposed to deter them (it's for moles and any other burrowing critter). Hasn't worked. We went to the Country Store on Wellborn Rd. to llook at cage traps and were told by an employee that it would be extremely difficult to trap them because they are not lured into a trap bated by rotten bananas or any other type of rotting food....armadillos are a burrowing type of critter looking for bugs and worms.

Any suggestions?? Should we stay up at night and try to shoot them?

.410 and a case of beer would be ideal in this situation.

My only suggestion is to go after their food source, the bugs and worms that live in the dirt. Try to kill them. Maybe double dose your yard with pesticide?

I am the armadillo killing king. The only way to get rid of them is to shoot them. I've tried EVERYTHING and this is the only way. However, having said that, we got a lab a few years ago and he loved killing dillos. He did my dirty work for me until he got ran over. I now have resorted to getting up in the middle of the night with my q-beam and .410. We got another lab but we kennel her at night as she is only a year old.
Since we moved in to our house in 2002, my kill count is up to 107. After I killed the first 10 or so I decided to keep up with my kill count.

OK....killing them does seem to be the best option and one that hubby and I will have to do.

El presidente! I am IMPRESSED! We will start a kill count as well!

One question - will leaving on outside lights deter them at all, and if we turn on a light or flashlight while hunting them scare them away??

Calling the "Heathens". Could it be have Heathen will travel?

get some lions. or cougars.

the cougars would be all like.."hey"



and the armadillos would be all like "ahh"

and then you get some soccer playing kids.


who are all like.

Which brings...


PROFIT from vuvuzuelas.

...on a side note, while searching for armadillo pictures, i found this.

We also had a problem with them and one in particular was living under our deck, tearing up the lattice daily. I found one of the spots where it was digging to get in/out from under the deck. I placed a live trap there and put an apple peel inside. After a few days, the peel dried up, but I decided to keep the trap there anyway. I let the dogs out one morning and they started barking like crazy..checked my trap and sure enough, there was a huge 'dillo in there! My hubby had to shoot the other one, but so far no others have returned. Maybe it was just beginner's luck, but the trap worked for me.

Hey - we do have a resident bobcat in the area. But, when you want him to come around, he won't.

Love all those pictures!!!! You guys crack me up!!!!!

No one answered my question about the LIGHTS. Will that deter them?

Also, when we are looking for them, do we use just a flashlight, or can we use outside lights??

Awsomeness

Dogs work great. We own an exotic game ranch in the Hill Country and have used Great Pyreneese for years to protect blackbuck and mouflon from the coyotes and as an added bonus, they have been super effective in eradicating any dillos that venture near the house. Before we brought the dogs in, I would go out at night around 10PM with the landscape lights on, and sit with a shotgun until the ****heads would show up. Lights at night don't deter them (hitting them square in the eyes with a q-beam might, but indirect artificial light does not seem to be a problem). It's the vibrations that you need to be careful of. Walk very softly as they pick up on movement fairly easy and will run like hell when alarmed. Most of the folks on this thread have it nailed down...a good weapon, .22, 12 gauge, or anything in between will do the trick. It's all on your marksmanship at that point. I preferred the 12 gauge when I was lawn hunting them due to the high levels of my pissed-off-ness. Seeing them split into two made my night. Good luck and good hunting!

"Gentlemen, we have boat drinks."

RhinoVic
CO'89

I will answer your light question. No, they don't work, dillo's have very poor eyesight and rely on their noses. If you are quiet, you can literally walk up and kick them. As a kid, I loved to catch them by the tail.

Just a note of caution. While unlikely, you can catch leprosy from armadillos so take a little care when handling them.

Ask Fishing Fools if you can borrow his dogs for a couple of weeks.

Toni, that chance is less than winning the lottery, I will take my chances. It is much more likely near the coast, too.

[This message has been edited by AgeofEase08 (edited 8/31/2010 10:36a).]

Leprosy is not uncommon in armadillos found in the swampy/coastal areas of Louisiana, but the documented cases of dillo to human transmission are little to none. If you did get it, thank God it's treatable and you don't have to look forward to literally falling apart.

"Gentlemen, we have boat drinks."

RhinoVic
CO'89

As great of an idea as it may seem at the time, do not GIS "leprosy"

Bushman is right. The lights will NOT deter them. They have bad eyesight. They can smell you though. Once they do, they are gone back to their hole. I usually pan the yard with the qbeam, find it, get the gun ready, then hit it again with the light and BLAST!