Armadillos Pose Problems To Lawns

Not only new people, but also new critters are moving to Jasper County. And one of them is causing major devastation.

If you happen to wake up one morning and find that during the night your beautiful lush lawn looks as if it has been aerated with a pickax, you’ve probably had a visit from an armadillo.

According to Janice Arnold at the UGA/Jasper Co. Cooperative Extension Service, they get two or three calls a week from people reporting damaged lawns and wondering what they can do about it.
Unfortunately, there’s no simple or easy answer.

The Nine-Banded Armadillo is an unusual creature. It is very ancient, in a family similar to anteaters, except that instead of ants they eat grubs and earthworms, which they dig up from underneath well kept and manicured lawns.

They began to arrive here approximately two years ago as they diligently migrate eastward. They thrive in warm climates with soft soil leading some people to theorize that global warming is the reason for their arrival in Georgia.

Others say they’re just breeding and finding out there are more worms in Georgia than in Texas. Whatever the reason, they’re here and we have to deal with them.

One solution, according to the manufacturer, is that you can use their all natural powder called Shake-Away. It smells like a coyote, the armadillo’s most feared predator, and by sprinkling it around the area you want to protect will make the critter steer clear of the area “claimed” by the coyote.
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However, professional animal control people say the coyote powder doesn’t work and the only way to control the vile varmints is to trap them. If you decide to go this route, Southern Wild Life Control in Macon, for a fee, will attempt to trap and remove them for you.

The only problem with this is, once again according to the Co-op Extension, trapping the nasty nipper only has a six percent success rate.
Another control method, professed by lawn care companies is to apply expensive chemical treatments to your lawn to kill all the grub worms underneath it, thereby eliminating the source of food and discouraging the armadillo from feeding there. The trouble with this solution is that they like earthworms too.

Perhaps the most effective control method is to simply shoot the ground grubbing pest. They are not protected under Georgia wildlife regulations and may be hunted all year with no limitations. The best time to spot them is beginning at twilight and throughout the night. A motion light is an excellent way to alert you to their presence.

A spotlight or a flash light will “freeze” them momentarily, and a .22 rifle is quite adequate. However, good judgment must be used in determining where it is safe to shoot, and local laws and ordinances should be checked before shooting.

Some astonishing facts about armadillos:

•They always give birth to exactly four identical babies of the same sex.

•They can stop breathing for six minutes.

•They are the last mammals that have a shell.

•They are excellent swimmers because they can blow up their stomach by swallowing air.

•They are almost blind and can’t see colors.

•They can hear and smell grubs and worms underneath the ground.

•They are the only animals that can transmit leprosy.

Experts speculate that once you’ve had an experience with one, another will soon be along to continue their dirty work. Maybe one day we’ll just run out of worms and they’ll move on.

Of course, then we would be lawn-less.