Armadillos: Methods to Trap / Kill?

[MtnCreek]

Anyone know of a good way to trap or otherwise exterminate armadillos? I’ve been fighting this battle for about three years now. I started out shooting them, but the wife gets pretty pissed when I open fire at 2am (prime armadillo time) plus staying up all night gets old. I still do it from time to time, but I’m loosing the battle in more ways than one! My dog will kill them if they venture near the house, but the remainder of the yard and my pasture is free game for the armadillos. I have a live trap that I’ve used, but with very limited success. The method I used for trapping was a 2x6 staked into the ground leading to the trap. I’ve caught one using this method, so other than not making the wife mad, shooting seems to work better.

Anyone got any suggestions?

 

[wgp]

All we have done at our farm (Kansas) is shoot them. It works. As for trapping, read up on the news stories out there about the ability of a certain form of leprosy to be transmitted directly from armadillos to humans. I have no interest in trapping or anything that involves handling them.

 

[MtnCreek]

WGP,
Thanks for the heads up! I found a NYT story claiming 1/3 of US leprosy cases are linked to contact w/ armadillos.

Now I really want them gone!!!

 

[W.E.G.]

Armadillos eat grubs.

That's all they eat.

Kill the grubs in your yard, and the dillo will go tear up somebody else's yard.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Thanks for the heads up! I found a NYT story claiming 1/3 of US leprosy cases are linked to contact w/ armadillos.

1/3? Wow, that does sound rather shocking!!! Let's see, only about 150 cases are reported each year in the US and so that means about 50 may come from contact with armadillos. Simple solution, don't handle them or handle them with gloves. No big deal.
http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=14527865

With that said, the CDC does not even armadillos or those handling them as a risk group.
http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/hansens_disease/technical.html/#risk

Your biggest risk in George apparently may be immigrant construction labor...
http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/4/e1.htm

Armadillos eat grubs.

That's all they eat.

Kill the grubs in your yard, and the dillo will go tear up somebody else's yard.

Armadillos do love grubs, but that isn't all they eat, unfortunately.
http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/dasynove.htm

 

[hirundo82]

With that said, the CDC does not even armadillos or those handling them as a risk group.

The paper showing a genetic link between leprosy in humans and that in armadillos only came out a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure the CDC will add it to their website when they get around to updating that page.

The paper only implicated armadillos in leprosy cases in Texas and Louisiana. The population which was introduced into Florida in the 1920's and later spread to Georgia and beyond doesn't carry leprosy, although that may change as the two populations of armadillos have now met. Still, as always when handling wild animals, it is wise to wear gloves and wash your hands soon afterward.

Re: the original question and shooting at night--would a sufficiently powerful pellet gun or .22CBs be enough to kill an armadillo with proper shot placement? I'd suggest a suppressor, but I see that isn't allowed by the Georgia hunting regs.

 

[MtnCreek]

22 rimfire w/ a subsonic rd will kill them with proper shot placement; sometimes they just roll over dead, sometimes they leap 3 ft into the air and hit the ground dead. The problem is when they run and die under my barn, under the doglot, under my kid's playhouse... With good'ole 90 deg GA weather, the stench only lasts a couple of weeks!
I've found that using a .223 w/ a BT projectile immobilizes the little critter. A suppresser is no problem when used to protect livestock (armadillos dig holes where a horse or cow could break its leg) but suppressed .223 fire is still pretty loud.

What I’m really trying to avoid is staying up and shooting them. Just so you’ll know, here’s what happens: Wife’s pissed because I’m not in bed w/ her, shooting at 2am pisses wife off (see a pattern here), I get little sleep and don’t get all my yard work completed.

I’d love to know a way to deal with them without staying up and shooting them. WEG made a good point about the grubs; I may try killing the grubs if I can find a way to do it without endangering my bird population. This may work out for my yard, but it's a no go for my pastures.

 

[Cob]

Get a guard dog, let him roam at night, they usually scare em away.
Already mentioned - a .22 LR is effective & cheap. They will dig burrows under ground. Look for fresh dug dirt to locate recent activity. then hunt them that way.

They are easy to walk up on when they have their head and nose buried in the dirt/ leaves. I have snuck up on them (close enough to kick) on many occasions. Once you Kick them they will jump and run towards their burrow. I have caught one in a large fishermans dip net in the yard before... I sort of threw it over him right before he was about to bolt... You can relocate them to non-hunter's yards if you like...