armadillos

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Sugar_fl montgomery, AL(Zone 7b) Mar 11, 2004

Is anyone else having problems with armadillos in their garden. If so what are U doing. They are digging holes all over my garden.

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JudithI Tallahassee, FL(Zone 8b) Mar 13, 2004

Loading my shotgun!

Seriously, I have had problems with them for 12 years in our natural habitat garden in Tallahassee. Now it seems that the raccoons are taking up the habit. Fortunately, I haven't started planting just yet, so they are both providing free tilling services for future plants!

I won't go into details about ways I have tried to remove them from our woods. Suffice it to say that some of it involved l-o-n-g garden hoses in l-o-n-g underground tunnels and a half-drowned opossum, and all night vigils with flashlights, shovels, and empty garbage cans! LOL!

If you are new to the area, or to gardening on your site, here is some generally unscientific info I have gleaned from experience. We long ago contacted the Ag agent, who advised that, while they do provide traps you can borrow (must pick up and return), the traps aren't very successful in catching them. Their food supply is too plentiful, so they aren't drawn to food in the traps. Even if you catch them, you can't release them on someone else's property. I have few real garden enemies, as we feed all sorts of birds and animals daily. But the armadillos aren't interested in our food supply; they find their own! This is one pest I could kill without reservation.

Armadillos have no natural enemies in the US. Cats lay down and watch them curiously, and dogs are just ignored.

They are digging for our wonderful earthworms, among other underground delectables. They also enjoy a nice salad with their meals from our tender plant roots.

They are drawn to freshly disturbed flowerbeds after new plantings and tilling because they can smell the varmints below.

So far we have managed to just survive their spring onslaught by replanting and fuming. It does seem, at least in our area, that their activity subsides later, and we are able to finally enjoy our garden. At least we don't have alligators--yet!

Good luck!!!!

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Sugar_fl montgomery, AL(Zone 7b) Mar 13, 2004

Judith
Thanks for the reply. Last year we killed on armadillo & 1 possum both with a shotgun. I guess we need to go hunting.
There is holes all over the lace as well as in our garden.
Our lab has been barking a lot at nite so she probably sees them.
This is my 3rd year of gardening in FL. In VA where I moved here from it was snails & moles so U can't win. We won't plant a lot in there this summer as we will be in Alaska most of the summer. What I do plant will be in pots under the arbor with auto watering.
Thanks again for the reply.

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