Armadillo Antidote

[2LaneCruzer]

A few years back, I unofficially authorized my 25 yo son and a friend to get 'em a case of beer and .22s each, and keep night watch.
They got two, and two more a few weeks later.

But the armamillos continue to march northward.
When I was 18 and left south Alabama for college in 1979, I had never seen one of the possums on a half shell.
30 years later, they have advanced north of Birmingham.

Yep, we didn't have the little varmints here when I was growing up; they started showing up in the late 60's early 70's, mostly as road kill... which reminds me of the old riddle, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Answer: "To show the Armadillo it could be done".

Some of my West Texican friends called them Army Diggers, and I can see why.

 

[MacLawn]

Gem, I see you're straight across the state from me just about. Those crits aren't native to Georgia, only been in Augusta area a few years. Still don't see very many, but they are increasing. They need shootin'. Killin'. Some TEXANS eat'em. On some restaurant menus. I can eat about anything, reckon I'd try it, but not first on my food list. Kill'em.

 

[tallyho8]

A 22 is nice if you can sit around all night until you spot one but a trap doesn't take up as much of your time.
Armadillos will usually take the same routes and even wear a trail in the ground. You need to set up a live trap the size of a coon trap by their trail. Take 2 long boards at least 6" high to make a "V" shape in front of the trap to funnel them into the trap. Forget bait as they mainly eat insects.

They will walk up their trail and come to the board and follow it right into the trap. Then you can do what you want with him, shoot, relocate or dilla stew. I catch many this way because they usually prowl at night when it is hard to see them and I need my sleep.

 

[KYDan]

Opossums with armor! Heck, when you're retired you have time to critter hunt. We have moles and I take a lawn chair, a cooler, and a 12 gauge. I mash down the runs before doing this and when they begin the re-tunnelling project it's lights out time for the mole. Fortunately, we have lazy moles and they seem to start their day 10'ish. Providing entertainment for ROF's!

 

[MacLawn]

My kind of fun, KYDan, I'd like to hep ye with that job!

 

[Gem99ultra]

Gem, I see you're straight across the state from me just about. Those crits aren't native to Georgia, only been in Augusta area a few years. Still don't see very many, but they are increasing. They need shootin'. Killin'. Some TEXANS eat'em. On some restaurant menus. I can eat about anything, reckon I'd try it, but not first on my food list. Kill'em.

I can relate to what you're saying as how I spent 70 years growing up in Texas. The Twenty-Two System did always work pretty well there. Now, however, I cringe at the thought of staying up past 9:00pm

But - especially after reading the article from Southern Farmer, I definitely won't be eating any armadillos - nor 'possums, nor 'coons.

Guess I best get ready for some night-shift work.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

I understand armadillos taste pretty good.

"The diets of different armadillo species vary, but consist mainly of insects, grubs, and other invertebrates. Some species, however, feed almost entirely on ants and termites." Which means, except for their digging holes in places you don't want them, they're probably doing you a lot of good eating insect pests.

Considering the leprosy problem, you probably don't want to handle them or the meat barehanded. Hansen's Disease (leprosy) has a good Wikipedia entry on it. I wouldn't worry too much about it though; supposedly 95% of us are immune to it.

"The North American nine-banded armadillo tends to jump straight in the air when surprised, and consequently often collides with the undercarriage or fenders of passing vehicles." Sounds to me a fun solution would be to take your tractor, hook up the brush hog, raise it about a foot off the ground and just drive through the fields the dillos are hanging out in, and watch the pieces fly out every so often.

 

[Bird]

I have eaten what a coworker "said" was barbecued armadillo a couple of times when he came back from hunting and it was very good. But that was in the late '70s.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I need to tackle an armadillo problem myself. I've been told they aren't generally active until after midnight. At some point, I'll get my 12 ga and set up a lawn chair to wait them out.

 

[RobertBrown]

As far as I know the 9 banded armadillo is considered an invasive species in this country, although it is the state mammal of Texas...go figure .
Also known as "Hoover hog" or "Panzer-swine" in the 30's and 40's, these critters can be table fare and are said to taste like pork.
I have dispensed with countless "dillos" and have spent hours in pursuit of the capture of same....barehanded. They are very difficult to hold on to for more than a few seconds, as the preferred method of capture is to sneak up from down wind, and grab them by the tail.
Sooo...they are good for something, but these animals can wreak havoc on the quail and other ground nesting birds. They eat the eggs.

When shooting them, be aware that they can run a good distance if not properly dispatched. The problems come when they run under the barn, back in their hole, or under the neighbors house and die. Rotting armadillo is a smell you won't soon forget or get rid of.