Armadillos

Armadillo Overview

Habitat

The equatorial region is the most popular home for Armadillos, these animals prefer warm areas because they do not have fat stores to protect them from the cold. Generally, they are quite selective with regard to the location of their habitat. Armadillos use factors such as the type of soil in an area to decide its suitability to be a home. Loam soil and sandy soil that are loose and exhibit high porosity are best. This is because such soils are easy to dig when foraging for food as well as creating their burrows.

Therefore, most Armadillos can be found in South and Central America. However, there is a single Armadillo species called the nine-banded Armadillo that lives in the region that stretches from Argentina all the way to the Southern United States. This particular species has been expanding exponentially northward since the mid-19th century.

Habits

Armadillos are far from social creatures thus sleep for the better part of the day. In fact, they are known to sleep for up to sixteen hours on a daily basis in their warm burrows. They mostly forage for food in the mornings and evenings.

Typically, their social interaction is limited to only keeping warm and mating. This means that during cold seasons, armadillos group up in their burrows so that they can share their body heat to keep warm. Notably, the seven-banded armadillo and other armadillos of a similar gender can share a burrow during such months.

Diet

Despite the fact that 90% of Armadillo diet comprises of larvae and insects, they are still omnivores. They use their sticky and long tongue to catch termites, beetles, ants as well as other insects. Armadillos simply dig the ground to access these insects. However, they also feed on herbs, small vertebrates, eggs, plants and small quantities of fruit. Occasionally, armadillos are known to scavenge for animals that are deceased.

Size and description

Armadillos have a total of twenty species that vary in size i.e. some are tiny, and others are huge. The pink fairy armadillo is considered to be the smallest i.e. 6-inch long (approximately 15cm). On the other hand, giant armadillos are the largest species, measuring 1.5m long.

The armor of an armadillo comprises of overlapping plates, which conveniently cover the tail, legs, head and back. Usually, armadillo species are identified by the total number of armored bands. For instance, three-banded armadillos have the characteristic of rolling into hard armored balls as a defensive mechanism against deadly predators. The other types of armadillo species will just quickly dig holes before hunkering down to protect their tender stomachs while exposing their armor.

Armadillos and your yard

The signature for armadillo presence is large holes left in the yard. The technical term for these large holes is rooting and their function is to provide shelter. However, they should not be confused with smaller holes (the size of a tennis ball or golf ball) that armadillos dig when foraging for food. These are common in areas, which are covered by sand, dirt or even mulch.

The best way of confirming if you have an armadillo problem is the presence of holes in the yard. The animals utilize their sharp claws to dig the ground in your yard for shelter and food. These deep holes might be around your home as well as under it. It should be noted that these armadillo holes are very dangerous and should never be disregarded. This is because of the following reasons:

• They can result in cracks on your property and might even make it sink altogether.
• Armadillos can spread an array of diseases to you and your family that can result in leprosy. In addition, they carry rabies but the risk of this disease to humans is low because they rarely bite.

Homeowners who have an armadillo infestation in their yard can contact us to provide an effective solution. Our personnel will safely capture the animals and prevent them from burrowing further into your home’s foundation. The human removal of armadillos is our niche.

Removal services

As earlier mentioned, armadillos will dig both small and large holes around and under your home. Contact us when you cite such holes to prevent a destructive shift in your foundation that will attract exorbitant repairs later on. Desist from covering such holes on your yard before armadillos digging them have been safely captured and taken away from your home. The Critter Team offers home clients comprehensive removal services that is tailormade to resolve your armadillo nuisance from your yard. Furthermore, our human trapping services also extend to wild animals that trespass into your property.

It is difficult to find armadillos using their burrowed holes and that is why we employ trapping as an effective removal technique. The nine-banded armadillo species has rapidly moved up the states from South America via Central America and Mexico. Currently, the species can easily be found in many areas that exceed half the country in area. These armadillos are very invasive thus cannot be successfully relocated in the state of Florida. Armadillos are mammals of medium size and can typically grow to a length of 25-42 inches. Their weight ranges between 5.5-14lbs. However, an armadillo can weigh up to 22lbs. One armadillo is capable if creating twelve burrows within its territory and maintaining all of them, this can be in one mile. The armadillo burrows increase in depth and length on each visit until they are ultimately 25ft long and 7 feet deep.

If such tunnels are left unchecked, they form dangerous sinkholes underneath foundations, pool decks or air conditioner pads and can result in significant structural damage.

Apart from humans, armadillos are the only other animals known to be carriers of leprosy/ Hansen’s disease. This is a severe debilitating ailment, currently, half of the fresh cases of leprosy are in states such as Texas, New York, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida, and California.

Fortunately, The Critter Team services are diligent enough to determine your armadillo problem and provide an effective solution. These animals can inflict significant damage to agricultural sites, golf courses, and suburban lawns. They plow up a large quantity of ground each night while looking for insects thus disturbing home foundations.

Property value

Armadillos have an adverse effect on the aesthetics of the property. Sometimes they cause great damage e.g. to foundations. Handling armadillo infestation can have a huge cost implication, but some companies charge high fees to only remove one armadillo. Wildlife management experts advise that the process of evicting armadillos should comprise of sealing the holes after all armadillos have been trapped and placed in proper cages. We have technicians that are specially trained in both trapping and removal of these pests. Our personnel will carefully evaluate your problem, precisely locate armadillo burrows, humanely live-trap the animals and remove them. Finally, they clean up any debris and odor left behind by the armadillos. This means that no aspect of your armadillo infestation will be left pending, ultimately, you and your family will be safe to live comfortably on your property again.