Does anyone have any ideas on how to possibly *trap* an armadillo? Hubby and I have lost a lot of sleep trying to stay up and shoot the armadillo who is in our flower/front beds every night. I know it would be difficult to trap it, but maybe some of you have done it before or have other ideas on how to get rid of armadillos.

We have treated the area with pesticides first (to rid the area of bugs/grubs) and have also applied the area with mole repellent. Sometimes it has helped, but this armadillo will NOT go away! This is year #2 dealing with this critter, and I have had it!!

Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated!

As a kid, I kept a live animal trap by my deer blind to catch rabbits. Armadillos ended up in there a time or two.

I wish my mom was that cool.

These critters are such hit artists. They are random in the times they come out and the locations. The average person can't lay in wait all night with a gun.

Try putting a live trap at the end of a V shaped funnel. You can use 2X8s that are eight feet or more in length to funnel them into the trap. Once inside the funnel, they bump into the boards while moving toward the trap. This does work but requires several tries.

One of the best options is a motion sensing alarm that you get for under $30. It will chime when they come within twenty feet; but, you have to be prepared to shoot them.

Be patient. They are coming to damp ground for grubs and right now, you may have the only spot.
Rainfall will offer some relief, but ...........

quote:

---

Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated!

---

High speed lead poisoning...

Animals right now are having a tough time finding food such as bugs/grubs with the drought. They are extending their usual search range.

It will cause a massive die off if it continues. Be patient and understanding of the critters out there. Coexist with nature.......not eradicate it because it causes you a bit of grief.

This works for me. Have a friend who bought one and I have used it.

www.thearmadillotrap.com

aggiedent: We have dealt with this critter for two years and have spent a lot of money on pesticides and granulated deterrents trying to just have the animal *move on*. I am not one for killing nature (well, maybe poisonous snakes near my house), but this situation is really wearing on my nerves any more. I would be perfectly happy to transport the critter to the Brazos River banks IF I could just catch it! We live about a mile from the river, so we do have many creatures on our property. They are welcome to run, crawl, slither, hop and fly through the property, but I draw the line when it comes to their digging up the front beds and yard. We dealt with feral hogs last year; but, it's too dry in the yard for them this year.

Hopefully, through maybe "The Armadillo Trap" (which sounds like it could easily capture the critters), we could capture and release. I am investigating that trap on-line now.

Tagguy: LOL!!! My husband loves your idea!!! He has a few guns and was, in fact, locked and loaded at 1:00 am this morning when he went outside to see if he could spot the critter. Of course, said critter had already been around, done his dirty work, and took off.

Best idea looks like the wooden trap. Am still investigating. Thanks for the laugh!!!

NOBEVO: You are SO right....one cannot keep getting up during the night trying to find an armadillo! We have tried, as recently as last night, in fact. In the past two years dealing with this critter, we have seen it many times, and there is no chasing it....it moves fast when it wants to and slips into the woods beside the house.

Mom,

There's a company that sells a passive infrared sensor (like the motion sensor lights people use in their driveways). Instead of turning on a light it sends a signal into your house to a receiver (bout the size of a deck of cards) which plugs into an electrical outlet. You then plug a radio into the module that you plugged into the outlet, say by your nightstand.
You set the sensor in your flower bed where the critter is digging plug into an extension cord and the signal will go to the receiver module. When the sensor gets triggered the radio by your nightstand comes on..you go out and take care of said critter in the manner you choose.
Unfortunately I've had to kill dozens of armadillos and dozens of hogs with this method.
Check Leviton Mfg website..if no success try X-10 which may still be sold by radio shack. Been a while but you're probably looking at $100 for the pair. I haven't figured out a better way to deal with these guys yet.

Put out the chemical lime around your perimeter, armadillos step on it, lick their feet later and it does them in.

Get you a live trap and set it at a pinch point in the yard, if you have one. Get some lumber or something that you can make a funnel in the pinch point to make it go into the trap. Bingo! No more dillo. Not really a lot that you can bait the trap with, so making a funnel is the best way to increase your odds of catching it.

Just a word of caution about using non-target specific products such as lime and pesticides. If you have family pets they can also get into these products even if you think you have them where they can't get to them. Birds or other animals can carry the products or your animals can eat a dead animal and still get poisoned. This happened to a friend of mine, both of his dogs made but it was really expensive.

You are better off trapping the critter and removing it, but remember most give birth to 4 at a time so this might be an ongoing problem.

Thanks to all for your helpful suggestions! We are still trying to decide on the best method to use, and hubby still makes periodic trips outside at night, gun in hand, to see if he can "take care of" the problem.... I don't know who is more stubborn...the animal or hubby....

I have removed (killed) about 10 in our yard the last three years. 8 were killed between 9 and 10 at night. They will always be an issue.

quote:

---

Coexist with nature.......not eradicate it because it causes you a bit of grief.

---

Bit of grief. Have you ever dealt with these ****ers? They dig up grass, bushes, mulch, rocks, etc. **** em. If you get a shot, take it.

That being said, I have caught 2. Both by the funnel method using a Have-a-hart trap I bought @ Home Depot. It is for raccoons, but works for Armadillos.

I have 3-18 inch landscape fences set up on both sides in a funnel pattern. And I put it in an area where he always goes.

The key is patience. This took a few months for the 1st. The 2nd walked in a week later.

Good luck!

Bulldog Ag: LOL!! Well, you pretty much said what we were thinking!! It is pretty much impossible coexisting with armadillos if they are destroying your garden beds and rooting everything up.

Last night, hubby missed seeing him again... The result this morning was seeing two very deep tunnels in the middle of a big bed - right into one water sprinkler head, and we have not checked out yet whether the piping and/or electrical hook-up has been broken into. OMG! I am so sick of those animals!!!

I know how you feel! I have seen two armadillos...Both without my gun. With my gun, not a sighting.

They will also dig right up to the trap...I have even had the trap triggered before. It is almost like he is playing with me

Seriously though. A trap with a funnel. You will eventually catch him. The crappy thing is it is probably a whole family. Like I said..I have caught two already, but there is still digging. Get the **** out already!

Good luck!

P.S. Not sure what gun you are using, but I would recommend a .410. I have heard some bad stories with .22s...They may ricochet...I heard of someone shooting their neighbors A/C. Not good

Funneling them into a trap worked for us!

quote:

---

They pay $2.50 down in Hallettsville, $3, maybe more...

---