Armadillos anyone ?

[whetrock]

I was just curious if I was the only person on this sight that has a problem with Armadillos. Around these parts the population is very thick and these animals can be very invasive and destructive to yards and even crops in some instances in the past month or so with the cooler weather coming in I've noticed slightly lesss of the critters out and about but a couple of months ago back in the fall especially I was killing 2 or 3 a day in the yard rooting around and turning my family's well groomed lawn into an ugly eye sore. anywho like most people do with feral hogs I have a shoot on sight policy with Armadillos.

 

[Robert]

It is amazing how much damage the dang litte critters can cause. I was hog hunting one time and we heard what we figered was an entire herd, or whatever they are called, of hogs coming through the thick cedar scrub south of Leakey, TX. So all 6 of us turn to wards the sound and begin to make ready. Must be some big ol hogs to make all this racket. Get ready, any second now they will pop out into the clearing... Out pops a big ol Armadillo rooting around. We had a great laugh out of that.

 

[whetrock]

I get that all the time when I'm out deer hunting I'll hear a great disturbance and rustling in the brush and leaves and when my hearts about to beat out of my chest I realize it's just an Armadillo I haven't quite figured out what good they do our ecosystem or what their place is in wild.

 

[Robert]

Meh, I guess something has to carry the Plague. I mean Prairie Dogs can't do it alone...
That and they give buzzards something to eat on the side of the highway.

 

[lowerunit411]

The bacteria mycobacterium leprae can infect armadillos, and this is the bacteria which causes leprosy. The link between human infection and armadillos has not been heavily tested, but it does remain a risk. They can also carry Rabies...but not plague

 

[Robert]

well there you go

 

[lowerunit411]

just think of them as "possom on the half shell"!

 

[o Unforgiven o]

just think of them as "possom on the half shell"!

Haven't heard that in a while haha. I prefer to see them for the giant armor clad rats they are. Almost every night I see an armadillo enter the yard from the treeline under the fence, where they have dug little holes. Thankfully they are not the smartest creatures and don't spook very easy, so walking out in the yard and sending them to armadillo hell is easy.

 

[788Ham]

Glad we don't have those fugly suckers up here, P-dogs are bad enough!

 

[dprice3844444]

texas turkeys

 

[Double Naught Spy]

The bacteria mycobacterium leprae can infect armadillos, and this is the bacteria which causes leprosy. The link between human infection and armadillos has not been heavily tested, but it does remain a risk.

It has not been heavily tested, but the numbers of US cases where leprosy occurs coincides heavily with people who handle armadillos.

They can also carry Rabies...but not plague

Humans carry all these things and much more. Even worse, transmission is much easier. Many plights affecting animals are not zoonotic to humans. Between humans, many are.

The most common method of transmission of rabies is via biting. As a member of Edentata, the small peg-like teeth of armadillos are nearly worthless for puncturing flesh, tearing flesh, or damaging flesh in general. Given that virtually all North American mammals can carry rabies (the opossum being the predominant near-exception), the fear about rabies is a bit over blown. Sometimes I think folks uses issues like disease carrying as justification for killing wildlife and often is the case that the disease concerns are overblown.

in the past month or so with the cooler weather coming in I've noticed slightly lesss of the critters out and about but a couple of months ago back in the fall

Actually, I have felt that this has been a rather mild winter given the number of armadillos I have seen. Armadillos do not have much fur, obviously, and are not good at internally regulating body temperature. They aren't "cold-blooded" but are not great at being "warm-blooded." They really don't like sub-freezing temperatures.

As armadillos have spread north, they are often found wintering in/under/around places where there are sources of heat, such as under homes and barns in northern Missouri. If they don't den in such localities in the northern clines, hypothermia can kill them.

 

[CollinLeon]

If they come in my yard, they get shot. I don't like 'em -- they're ugly. Call me biased if you want, but if it is ugly, it's likely to get shot if it comes in my yard. As such, Michelle, Oprah, and Rosie O'Donnel should probably stay out of my yard. Come to think of it, I believe an armadillo is cuter than any of those three...

 

[hogshead]

No problems with them here.Course they would need a little more fur if they come up here.

 

[hirundo82]

Actually there was a study last year that pretty conclusively linked the strain of M. leprae found in armadillos to leprosy cases in Texas and Louisiana. So wear gloves when you handle them (good idea when handling any type of wild animal, really).

 

[woodsrunner38]

They may reach you yet, hogshead. The darn things are up on the Cumberland Plateau around Nashville, Tennessee now. If you're in the Southern Mountains, Franklin to Ashville, you may escape, but I'd be surprised if the darn things aren't already in the coastal plains and piedmont of NC. This movement of armadillos from the native range of deep south Florida northward, starting suddenly in the late 50's-early 60's, puzzles wildlife biologists somewhat. Normally wildlife will expand to fill a void area if a food supply suddenly becomes available. We see that now with the recent expansion of coyotes into the eastern states brought on by a vastly increasing small mammal population rats, mice, etc, and the eastward movement of panthers out of the far western states for the re-established deer population in the east. Armadillos are worm, grub and soil insect eaters, and this food supply has always been in place naturally. Why the sudden expansion???

 

[jmorris]

I have them comming to the front door and up to the shop but I don't shoot them. Better than other criters that can get inside.

 

[Cleburne]

I hate these things, they sure do know how to mess up a yard, I kill them every chance I get.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Dillas as we call them are not native to Florida. They were introduced in Cocoa, Fl. in the 1920's when a traveling circus had a truck overturn.

They are a nusiance and have no natural predators. They cause accidents when crossing roads. One day while walking in the woods I shot 2 dozed in an area less than an acre. I watched one enter a canal for crossing and it must have walked on the bottom until it reached the other side.

They have become alot smarter than they used to be. I used to be able to walk up on them with no problem. Nowdays they don't give me the chance in my neck of the woods. I once walked up to one and shot my .45acp right under his nose as he was feeding. His only reaction was that he stood up and looked around. He then resumed feeding when I kicked him to get him moving. This was in West Cocoa circa 1975.

They breed like hogs and their tough shell makes them very hard for predators to kill. Buzzards like em.

 

[CollinLeon]

Buzzards like em.

But that is only after they have been through the 18-wheeler food processor.

 

[wgp]

Never used to be here in Kansas but they sure are now. I had a renter at our farm who shot them, but he has moved on and the damage is showing up in spades where they tear up the turf. I tried live-and-let-live but I'm going to start thinning them out myself.

 

[Flintknapper]

^^^^^^^^^^

Unfortunately, Armadillos have a relatively small home range and will often revisit a particular site to feed...over and over. In the course of a few nights...they can dig hundreds of small holes /divets.

As long as you remain downwind and don't make too much noise they are easy to approach and dispatch. People unfamiliar with them...tend to shoot them in "the big middle", but a better spot is just forward of the front legs.

You'll want to dispose of the carcass immediately if it is in a residential area.

'Dillos spoil quickly (in warm weather) and there is nothing on this earth that smells worse....(honest).

 

[Art Eatman]

If you have them around and want to bait them out so you can shoot them, earthworms make very good bait. Put some in an old sock and set it out in a good location; sit and wait.

 

[critter]

Yup. Mobile targets.

 

[lopaka]

But they taste like chicken.

Years (and years) ago I was doing survival school near Eglin AFB in Florida.

No food. But amadillos were around.

I discovered with the motivation of an empty stomach, I could outrun 'em and stick 'em with my knife.

Tasty - particularly in those circumstances. I didn't worry about diseases at the time, but we found out those who had food aversions. I had no problem in shaking hands with an armadillo claw when I got a drumstick, but some did.

 

[Sport45]

Spray the yard for grubs and you'll end the armadillo rooting problems. Sure you can shoot them, but do you really want to spend every night standing watch over your yard?