Armadillos

Of the 20 varieties of armadillo, all but one live in Latin America. The familiar nine-banded armadillo is the only species that includes the United States in its range.

Armadillo is a Spanish word meaning “little armored one” and refers to the bony plates that cover the back, head, legs, and tail of most of these odd-looking creatures. Armadillos are the only living mammals that wear such shells.

Closely related to anteaters and sloths, armadillos generally have a pointy or shovel-shaped snout and small eyes. They vary widely in size and color, from the 6-inch-long, salmon-colored pink fairy armadillo to the 5-foot-long, dark-brown giant armadillo. Others have black, red, gray, or yellowish coloring.

Contrary to popular belief, not all armadillos are able to encase themselves in their shells. In fact, only the three-banded armadillo can, curling its head and back feet and contorting its shell into a hard ball that confounds would-be predators.

Habitat and Diet

Armadillos live in temperate and warm habitats, including rain forests, grasslands, and semi-deserts. Because of their low metabolic rate and lack of fat stores, cold is their enemy, and spates of intemperate weather can wipe out whole populations.

Most species dig burrows and sleep prolifically, up to 16 hours per day, foraging in the early morning and evening for beetles, ants, termites, and other insects. They have very poor eyesight, and utilize their keen sense of smell to hunt. Strong legs and huge front claws are used for digging, and long, sticky tongues for extracting ants and termites from their tunnels. In addition to bugs, armadillos eat small vertebrates, plants, and some fruit, as well as the occasional carrion meal.

When an armadillo is loose in your home or backyard, it can be hard to know what to do. The best way to get rid of an armadillo is to capture it in an animal trap and release it away from your home. After you release of the armadillo, try several preventative measures to ensure that you won’t be bothered by armadillos in the future.

1. Setting up a Trap

Purchase a live trap. An animal trap is a hands-free way to humanely catch an armadillo and get it out of your hair for good.

2. Observe the armadillo. Before setting up the trap, take note of where the armadillo likes to hang out in your yard. You may notice that it burrows in a specific hole or that it tends to hide in a certain corner. Understanding the armadillo’s patterns will help you know where to set up your trap.

3. Position the trap. Since armadillos usually come out at nighttime and in the early morning, set your trap up during the afternoon when the armadillo is out of sight. Place the trap in an area you have seen the armadillo crawl through. If the armadillo has a burrow, place the trap with the mouth of the trap near the hole. If the armadillo likes a certain area of underbrush, place the trap with the mouth facing the path the armadillo usually takes.

4. Check regularly on the trap. Check on the trap several times a day after setting it. You don’t want to trap the armadillo only to forget about it, causing the animal distress. If after a few days the armadillo is still loose, consider moving the trap to another location that the armadillo favors.

5. Release the armadillo. After you have captured the armadillo, try to release it as soon as possible. Put on protective gloves to protect your hands from the armadillo’s claws. Place the cage on floor of your car or in the bed of your truck. Drive at least five miles away from your home to a wooded area, preferably one around water, and open the cage to release the armadillo.

Deterring Armadillos

1. Install a fence. A fence is the best way to prevent future armadillos from entering your house or backyard. Because armadillos tend to dig and burrow, make sure that the fence starts a foot below the ground.

2. Figure out their point of entry. If you have caught armadillos inside your house, try to figure out how they got in. Look for any holes or spaces in your house, particularly in seldom-visited places like your basement.

3. Close any burrows in your yard. Armadillos often dig burrows, or large holes, as they are scavenging for food in the ground. If an armadillo has left a burrow in your yard, fill it up with dirt. This will discourage other armadillos from continuing work on the burrow and further disrupting your lawn.

4. Remove brush and potential shelter. Armadillos tend to like dark, enclosed places like the space inside clumps of bushes or behind low-hanging brush. If you repeatedly notice armadillos in your yard, consider changing the landscaping to eliminate potential shelter.

5. Make your yard smell unpleasant. Armadillos have exceptionally strong senses of smell and are naturally repelled by certain scents. Castor oil is a substance proven to repel armadillos. It is usually marketed toward moles and gophers, but works on several foraging animals.

6. Purchase parasitic worms. If you are having trouble with armadillos in your garden, spread parasitic worms in your garden or flower beds. Parasitic worms feed on many of the insects that armadillos eat. After the worms have stayed in your yard for a few days, armadillos will see that your yard is not a good food source and won’t come back.

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References

National Geographic. (n. d.). Armadillos. Retrieved May 12, 2022, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/armadillos

WikiHow. (2019, September 6). How to Get Rid of Armadillos. Retrieved May 12, 2022, from https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Armadillos

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