Armadillos, You, and Your Property - Baton Rouge Pest Control

You may sometimes see armadillos on the roadside after a fatal encounter with an automobile. You may also see evidence of their presence in your yard or garden. Pest control strategies needs to include methods to manage these invaders. Understanding the animal and its habits can make critter control more effective, reducing or preventing the damage armadillos can cause to your property.

Armadillos 101
 
The nine-banded armadillo moved north out of Mexico in the late 1800s and was introduced into Florida by way of specimens that escaped from private zoos and traveling circuses. Its range has continued to expand northward but may be curtailed by climate. Armadillos have made a well established home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
 

• Armadillos were well established in Texas, Florida and other southern states by the mid-1990s, and were sighted as far north as Tennessee, South Carolina and Kansas.
• The animals were spotted in southern areas of Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana 10 years later.
• Their expansion into areas north of Ohio and Connecticut is not anticipated because of lower temperatures and rainfall averages .

 
Armadillos have sharp claws that help them dig their dens. They prefer moist soil close to where they feed, often near creeks and other bodies of water. They have few natural predators in the United States, can live 12 to 15 years and reproduce quickly. Armadillos are nocturnal, usually coming out around dusk to dig for grubs and insects.
 
A single armadillo may have as many as 12 burrows in its territory. Individual burrows can measure up to eight inches wide, seven feet deep and as much as 25 feet long. Burrows have even been found to extend under the foundation of homes.
 
Pest control for armadillos often becomes necessary when they invade gardens and ornamental beds in their hunt for food or shelter. Telltale signs of their presence include uprooted but uneaten plants, holes in your yard and sometimes even damage to sidewalks or driveways caused by their burrowing activity. You may also see footprints or hear scraping sounds beneath structures.
 
Critter Control Strategies
 
Take a multifaceted approach to protecting your property from damage by armadillos to give you the best chance of success. Implementing these ideas can build a defense that achieves your objective.
 
1. Remove as many armadillo-tempting features as possible from your yard. Effective pest control involves making your property unattractive to armadillos. Characteristics that armadillos find enticing can include overgrown areas and wood piles that offer protection. Also trim shrubbery away from your house, and block entrances to areas under your house, porch or deck.
 
While the preferred diet of nine-banded armadillos consists of insects and grubs, they will occasionally eat some types of produce. If fallen fruit from plants or trees is left on the ground, it can provide a nice supplement to the armadillo diet. Clearing food sources and reducing opportunities to find shelter can be the first step in your campaign.
 
2. Determine the strategies to use. The effectiveness of different approaches is an important factor in deciding what to do next. Your particular situation and preferences also play a role in making this decision.
 

• Traps: Signs of burrowing next to a structure or building can mean that trapping is an alternative. Before considering this option, it’s important to find out what laws apply to trapping and releasing animals in your area. You may also decide that trapping would be best left to a Baton Rouge pest control professional instead of doing it yourself. Trapping armadillos can be a hit-or-miss proposition because of their preferred diet, so it may not be the best strategy.
• Lights: Using lights to scare armadillos away can be effective since they are nocturnal creatures. Motion-activated lights can be the least disturbing option for outdoor illumination, as they shouldn’t be shining in your windows all night to disrupt sleep. Once they’re purchased and installed, the motion detectors must be adjusted properly to respond to intrusion. It’s possible, though, for your visitors to become accustomed to bright lights so they may not be bothered enough to leave.
• Pesticides: Removing potential food sources can be extended to using pesticides that will kill the insects and grubs in your yard that armadillos feed on. Unfortunately, the use of pesticides can have many unintended consequences that include destroying beneficial insects, harming pets and wildlife and doing potential damage to water sources. For these reasons, many people prefer to exclude pesticide use from their pest control arsenal.
• Repellents: Baton Rouge pest control through the use of repellents may be the least disruptive of all strategies. While armadillos don’t see well, they have an acute sense of smell that they use to locate food. If you make the environment of your yard unpleasant enough, armadillos tend to leave. One scent that is often infused in granules is coyote urine. The granules are sprinkled in areas with evidence of armadillo intrusion. They are not harmful to pets or the environment and will not attract the predator to your yard.

 
3. Maintain your armadillo-free yard. Once your armadillo infestation is under control, you’ll want to make sure you don’t erode the progress you’ve made. These ideas can reduce the effects of these animals' damage and help you make their return unlikely:
 

• Attend to the burrows left behind: To ensure that abandoned armadillo burrows aren’t harboring other pests, cover or stuff the burrow entrance with paper. If the paper hasn’t been disturbed in a day or two, you can fill the hole with gravel or soil to keep pests out.
• Keep up efforts to make your yard inhospitable: Continue to keep wood and brush piles from developing, and take care to clean up fallen fruit and vegetables that can attract armadillos and other animal invaders.
• Continue use of deterrent measures: Reapply repellents as directed and maintain use of other pest control measures such as lighting. Make sure that blocks to entrances beneath structures remain in place.
• Consider fencing: Even though armadillos can jump three to four feet vertically if startled, they’re not known to be climbers. A fence as little as 24 inches high placed in its accustomed path can convince an armadillo to go elsewhere.

 
Armadillos may be funny critters to watch, but they can be trouble for a yard or garden. Their burrowing as well as their eating habits makes pest control an important component of maintaining your property and preserving its value. If you need pest control service in Baton Rouge, contact us today.