An Armadillo in the Garden

What To Do If an Armadillo is Tearing Up Your Garden

Let’s face it, living in Florida, it is hard to get a garden to thrive. The hot sun and days without rain can prove to be a difficult row to hoe. So, if you have lovingly tilled the soil, sown the seed, and harvest the saplings, you have a real accomplishment. Now, imagine if an armadillo gets into your garden? What in the world will you do?

How do you keep an armadillo from creating a mess and ruining all your hard work? I am sure you aren’t interested in meeting the animal head-on. Therefore, it is best to gather knowledge of the creatures to be ready to protect your garden at all costs!

About the Armadillo 

They may not be the cutest of the animal kingdom, but armadillos are interesting critters. You see, they are not rodents or marsupials. In fact, their closest relative is the anteater and the sloth. This odd mammal is most recognizable by its suit of armor. Its armor or shell is made of bone and covers the entire body and parts of the tail.

Interesting fact… 

The three-banded armadillo is the one that can roll itself into a ball. All others are too rigid and are not flexible at all. 

Underneath that tough exterior, armadillos have strong short hind legs and tough claws for digging and tearing at food. Armadillos eat insects, plants, and meat from dead animal carcasses. So, if an armadillo enters your garden, it is probably looking for delicate plants and insects.

If You See an Armadillo

Unfortunately for some, spotting the armadillo in action is difficult because they are nocturnal. All the damage is done while you rest comfortably in your bed at night. However, if you are determined, you may catch one beginning to move around at dusk or finishing up at dawn.

Armadillos hide in overgrown bushes and brush where there is access to a water source. Their habitats are always in the southern states, as they cannot tolerate the cold at all. They like the suburban and agricultural areas for their access to food.

The Dangers of an Armadillo in the Garden

The simple truth is, armadillos aren’t very dangerous, except for in your garden. Now, if you try to catch one, their claws may get you, but that would be an accident. They don’t want to engage with humans. Typically, they will run at first sight of a person.

This is precisely the time to call for help, so the armadillo doesn’t do any more damage to your garden.

Getting the Armadillo OUT of Your Garden

Getting rid of an Armadillo is not an easy task for anyone. The best you can do is call for help from a professional wildlife removal company like the professionals at World Class Wildlife Removal. In the meantime, you can try keeping them from ever entering your garden in the first place.

Try these tips to keeping pesky armadillos out.

1. Install a strong fence at least 12 inches into the ground to prevent the armadillo from digging under a shallow fence to access your garden.
2. Try an ultrasonic device inserted into the ground and placed around the perimeter of the garden. Just be aware, these devices may bother small pets and dogs.
3. You can scatter stinky mothballs to deter the armadillos if you can stand the smell. Gardeners can place them around the perimeter of the garden and yard and drop them directly into the armadillo holes.
4. Soaking a towel or rag in a particularly pungent substance like ammonia, bleach, or vinegar will drive it out, too. Drop it down into the hole to stink them out.
5. A unique flap at the hole entrance will allow the armadillo to get out but not back in. Then you can fill in any holes.
6. Try baiting an armadillo trap with fruit or worms, although this is not an easy feat.

And if you have one already tearing up your perfectly manicured garden, call a wildlife removal company to get it out for good.

World Class Wildlife Removal

Allow us to do what we do best; remove wildlife, so you don’t have to. At World Class Wildlife Removal, we can take care of the armadillo or any other crazy critter problem without you ever even lifting a finger. (except to dial the phone).

You see, what most people don’t know are the names of the animals on the list of protected species in your area. These critters require removal and replacement in a new home. We, at World Class, have the knowledge and the know how to do just that.

Once the pest is relocated and gone, our team will eliminate entry points and even clean the mess the animal makes. This process ensures the animal does not return.

Finally, if you find damage to your garden done by an armadillo or any other pest, contact the staff at World Class Wildlife Removal in a hurry. It is our goal to make the process as quick and easy for homeowners as possible.

Call World Class today for your free no-obligation assessment of your wildlife problem.