What do you guys do for Armadillos? I live in a neighborhood, so shooting them is out of the question (when I was a kid, my dad use to hang out on our back patio at night, waiting for them to wander through when we had issues). I have a corner lot and a decent sized side yard that they are digging through. In fact, I saw one across the street in my neighbors yard early this morning.

Spraying for bugs (food source?). Some have suggested cayenne pepper, but that's a lot of pepper. And wouldn't watering or rain just wash it away? Any other suggestions?

Live trap & relocate...........in a bucket of water or wherever.

Crowbar and a headlamp

Take care of the food problem. If you get rid of the armadillos, that will only get worse once a predator is gone.

ABATTBQ11 said:

---

Take care of the food problem. If you get rid of the armadillos, that will only get worse once a predator is gone.

---

That's essentially where I am at. Kill the bugs, and they will go somewhere else hopefully. Sounds like the best option.

• Get a ~$30 live animal trap from Tractor Supply. (Fun Fact: My first biz was making live traps back in grade school)
• Get about 12 fencing planks from homedepot and some stakes to hold them.
• Built a large V with the live trap open at the point. Position the point at where you see the digging and make a very wide opening with the fence planks. ( Think about where this guy is coming from & where he is going..)

• Armadillos have a strong sense of smell but are almost legally blind and semi-dumb, Said armadillo will walk into this trap and then be trapped.

• If this doesn't work, wait till armadillo is tearing up your flower bed and kick the ********* out of him.

• Replace older Fence Planks with these newer slightly used fence planks for bonus points.

- also killing the grub worms their digging up for would be good - but that takes time, building an elaborate trap to outsmart an armadillo is a great Saturday project.

Used to chase them with brooms as a kid. Was always surprised how high they could jump when smacked on the rear. Then take off like grease lightning.

And then forget all about it and start eating again within sight.

Yes Did a google search on "how to get rid of armadillo". Wallmart has a product called armadillo scram. Caster oil is also a product to use. And mothballs. I've always known mothballs will deter just about anything.
I came across a litter of babies once in my life time riding a horse in the pasture. Four babies. According to what I read later, there's always four in a litter and always the same sex.

AgCWby90CS48 said:

---

Yes Did a google search on "how to get rid of armadillo". Wallmart has a product called armadillo scram. Caster oil is also a product to use. And mothballs. I've always known mothballs will deter just about anything.
I came across a litter of babies once in my life time riding a horse in the pasture. Four babies. According to what I read later, there's always four in a litter and always the same sex.

---

They're identical quadruplets.

sw@n said:

---

I have fraternal twins..... your comment gives me anxiety

---

Just don't have kids again

EcoZapp.Makes.Crisp.Air said:

---

• Get a ~$30 live animal trap from Tractor Supply. (Fun Fact: My first biz was making live traps back in grade school)
• Get about 12 fencing planks from homedepot and some stakes to hold them.
• Built a large V with the live trap open at the point. Position the point at where you see the digging and make a very wide opening with the fence planks. ( Think about where this guy is coming from & where he is going..)

• Armadillos have a strong sense of smell but are almost legally blind and semi-dumb, Said armadillo will walk into this trap and then be trapped.

• If this doesn't work, wait till armadillo is tearing up your flower bed and kick the ********* out of him.

• Replace older Fence Planks with these newer slightly used fence planks for bonus points.

- also killing the grub worms their digging up for would be good - but that takes time, building an elaborate trap to outsmart an armadillo is a great Saturday project.

---

When I first encountered armadillo issues, I consulted with my FIL who told me to bait a trap with cut up apples. I caught a raccoon and a possum in that manner but no dillos.

So then I researched online and found out about "guiding" them to the trap like you describe above. I did something similar but used staked silt fencing to build my V. It worked OK but was kind of a pain getting around the silt fence for mowing, etc. And I didn't really care to haul armadillos around for relocation.

Got frustrated with that approach and got suggestions to go the firearms route. Someone pointed me to Aquila sub-sonic sniper rounds (.22 with 60 grain bullet). I loaded up my bolt action rifle with said ammo and in times when armadillos start coming around and making a mess, I go outside in the wee hours of the night with the gun and a flashlight. I've taken out at least a couple dozen of them in the last 16 years. The traffic really slowed down after I built a fence around the backyard 10 years ago. Get some activity in the front flower beds on rare occasions. I am in an acreage community so not quite the same as shooting them in the burbs.

Spray for grubs and you won't have any more issues

armadillotrap.com

I just leave them alone. They hang out in the rose garden.

Where are you hitting em? Head? What part?

I know from experience they can be caught in a cast net after a few beers.

TamuKid said:

---

Where are you hitting em? Head? What part?

---

Sorry, I forgot to check back in on this thread. Depends on what shot I can get but usually just go for center mass. The Aquila SSS leaves a very sizable exit wound so it's doing a lot of internal damage. It's been "one shot one kill" since I started using it.

Our neighborhood (in NE Florida) is loaded with them. Self trapping here is a pain, as it's illegal to relocate dillos in Florida. They must be destroyed. It's the city, so firearms are out. Beating a dillo to death is unappealing. Anyway, we hired a trapper to get one that had burrowed under the foundation. After a few weeks, he got one. It didn't take long to get another.

Trappers are spendy, so I went to the internet looking for an alternative. Someone suggested soaking a tennis ball in pepper spray and throwing it down the burrow after they have vacated for the night (post-dusk). My first thought was, "What an idiot. Sounds like a great way to pepper spray yourself."

Desperate (and cheap), I took a can of Fox 5.3 from the wife's purse and set out with a tennis ball and a flashlight. Damn spray was so old a bunch dribbled out of the can all over my hand. Despite this plenty still got on the ball, so it went into the burrow. I washed my hands and went to bed. In the morning, I back filled the den with gravel. Dillo never returned. Victory!!!

That morning, I went and worked out and ended up wiping my sweaty hands/arm across my face. Apparently the sweat on my hands was enough to transfer any remaining spray from my hand to my eyes. Son-of-a-bi**h! My first instinct was right, but we've been dillo free since. Next time I'll wear gloves.

Nitrile gloves at harbor freight are so cheap I wear them cutting jalapenos and applying icy hot for this very reason

sw@n said:

---

Used to chase them with brooms as a kid. Was always surprised how high they could jump when smacked on the rear. Then take off like grease lightning.

---

Ha! No kidding. We'd would sneak up on them and see how close we could get. When an armadillo gets spooked they jump about 2 feet straight up!

My first house had a burrow underneath. I went through all of the different methods, and trapping was the only solution. Baiting did not work. I found out that armadillos are extreme creatures of habit, and they would take the exact same path to come back to the burrow. Their tails would make a little furrow in the mulch. Once I figured out which direction, I placed the trap directly across the path. Sooner or later they would stumble in and trigger the trap. I caught 13 over the course of two years this way until I got all the generations.

I'd recommend a game cam to determine the path then trap. I 'relocated' them to a dumpster after making the proper arrangements. A .22 to the body does just fine. I made the mistake of putting one of them in my can, and the only thing that smells worse than a live one is a dead one. And don't get the blood on you or touch them w/o gloves. They carry leprosy.

I ignored the problem for a while even when I was seeing one digging in my flower bed just about every night when I took my dog out. But then one afternoon a couple days ago we drove up to the house and he was there in broad daylight digging holes. Took two shots to hit him. The next morning he was gone. Life in the country is good.

sleepybeagle said:

---

sw@n said:

---

Used to chase them with brooms as a kid. Was always surprised how high they could jump when smacked on the rear. Then take off like grease lightning.

---

Ha! No kidding. We'd would sneak up on them and see how close we could get. When an armadillo gets spooked they jump about 2 feet straight up!

---

I wouldn't have believed that had I not seen it in person. The first time I shot one, there were two of them in one of our flower beds up against the back of the house. The closest one had his head down grubbing so I aimed just behind the head from about 3 feet away directly in front and popped him. He just fell over and was dead after a couple of spasms. The other one ran out in the middle of the yard and stopped, standing sideways to me. I just said OK, sighted him center mass and pulled the trigger. He jumped up and then took off like a scalded dog. I was like, how could I miss him from 30 feet away? Decided to go have a look and I spotted some blood on the grass. I walked on out in the direction he had gone and spotted him about 75 feet from where he was when I took the shot. He was laying on his side, not moving. Turned him over and saw an exit wound about the size of a quarter.

sleepybeagle said:

---

sw@n said:

---

Used to chase them with brooms as a kid. Was always surprised how high they could jump when smacked on the rear. Then take off like grease lightning.

---

Ha! No kidding. We'd would sneak up on them and see how close we could get. When an armadillo gets spooked they jump about 2 feet straight up!

---

and if you straddle them in a vehicle and they get spooked as you're over them, they'll jump up into the undercarriage of the vehicle.