The nine-banded armadillo
As most know, I am a lifelong resident of Gordon County. I worked the majority of my career in Bartow County, but always lived here. Prior to my job move to Gordon Extension, I saw my first armadillo in the Cartersville city limits in approximately 2011.
Now in Gordon County, it is not uncommon to see the occasional armadillo in the home landscape or see dead armadillos along the side of the road. There are many species of armadillos, but there is only one, the nine-banded armadillo (Dasy pus novem cinctus) found in the southeastern United States per our UGA literature. One past study reported that 78% of UGA county agents stated they received requests from clients for armadillo information at some point.
In many situations, damage to lawns and landscapes from armadillos is related to their digging in search of insects and other food options. I will be sharing background information on armadillos and control options if you are having issues with armadillos by use of a UGA publication by Mike Mengak, UGA Wildlife Specialist.
Did you know that armadillos are the only mammal in Georgia that has bony skin plates or a “shell?”
The nine-banded armadillo is about the size of an opossum. They can be 24 to 32 inches in length with nine-and-a-half to 14-and-a-half inches of that length being tail. The male armadillos can weigh anywhere from 12 to 17 pounds with females being smaller in the 8 to 13 pounds. Armadillos are brown to yellow brown in color.
They do have long claws which helps them with their digging for food. They have ears that are one-and-a-half inches in length and they have a pig appearing snout. If you see tracks in muddy areas, they have four toes on front feet and five toes on each back foot. The toes are spread and may be confused with tracks made by an opossum or raccoon. If you see an armadillo, their bony skin plates should be the easy visual give away for identification.
Armadillos may not be a big issue for some, but for homeowners with a big investment in lawns and landscapes, their digging habits may be unacceptable. Again, the armadillo is digging to find insects and other food options. Armadillos have good sense of smell, but poor eyesight. Our information states, armadillos eat insects, soil and plant litter while foraging. While foraging, they will dig shallow holes that are 1 to 3 inches deep and 3 to 5 inches in width. The holes are normally shaped like an inverted cone.
In addition, armadillos can uproot flowers and other plants while foraging. Damage is normally more of the nuisance variety than seen as a large economic loss in general. Again, armadillos are largely considered an insect consumer, but will eat fruit when available. On rare occasions they have consumed newborn rabbits and have consumed salamanders, toads, frogs, lizards and small snakes.
I will add that UGA Extension is not a regulatory agency. I will advise that if you need to do something about a problematic issue with armadillos to call DNR Game Management at 706-295-6041 to make sure of legal methods of control where you live.
Our information states they can be hunted or trapped throughout the year, but again you need to confirm with the DNR Game Management for what you legally can and cannot do. Plus, you may have limitations in city limits as compared to the county. I will add that you may want to consider hiring a Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators who can trap and remove damaging armadillos for you for a fee. Again, call DNR to confirm your options before doing something illegal. Even if you trap an armadillo, you need to know what you can do with the mammal after trapping.
Armadillos mainly will make a burrow to call home, use the burrow of another armadillo or use natural holes for dwellings. They do not hibernate, but they can’t handle high temperatures either. During the winter, you will see them in the warmer parts of the day and when summer arrives, they are more active at night. They do not store food or accumulate large amounts of body fat. The have to forage for food all year. They can stay in their burrow for several days in bad weather, but they can freeze or starve to death if they are unable to leave the burrow in search of food options.
If you decide to trap armadillos, use wire cage live traps measuring at least 10 by 12 by 32 inches. Use wings constructed of one by 6-inch lumber in various lengths and placed in a V-arrangement in front of the trap to help funnel the armadillo into the trap.
Remember, they have poor vision. No bait, lure or attractant has been shown to be effective in increasing trapping success.