Tag Archives: get rid of armadillos

Get Rid of Armadillo

get rid of armadillos
“Nooooo, Daddy, please don’t get rid of the armadillo!  Noooo!  It’s so cute.  I want to keep him.  I want him for my pet.  Please, Daddy, pleeeease?!”

            Dad groaned, and I could tell he wasn’t convinced yet that it was a great idea to keep the armadillo, much less keep it as a pet.  My baby sister, Emily, is usually very convincing when she wants something, and because she’s the baby in the family, Dad usually gives in.  Mom doesn’t, but Dad will, and we had a better chance with Mom if we could just get Dad on our side.

            But, it would take some major pleading to keep Dad from getting rid of the armadillo.  Over the last few weeks, he’d been angrier and angrier about our yard.  He thought it was a dog at first, because big chunks of grass and dirt were dug up and thrown around. He almost confronted our neighbor, even, who had a big Doberman.  Good thing he didn’t, because one day we noticed some of our trees were getting torn up, bark pulled off around the bottom.  Oh, man, was Dad mad then!  No dog does that, and after a lot of online research, Dad finally figured out it was probably an armadillo. 

            The way Dad ranted and raved, we all figured it would turn out to be some kind of monstrous wild creature, but when I saw it snuffling around in our grass, it was so cute!  It had this long nose and these adorable ears.  I stayed away from it, because I could also see the claws looked pretty sharp, but it was so sweet I had to get Emily outside to see it.

            Emily squealed when she saw it.  “Shhhh!”  I hushed her.  “If Dad sees it, he’ll just want to get rid of the armadillo.  We have to make him want to keep it for a pet.  You’re going to have to cry.”

            “Oh, man!  You always make me cry to Daddy when you want something,”  Emily complained.

            “Hey, you want this, too, don’t you?”

            “Yeah, I guess.”  She looked at the armadillo across the yard again.  “Yeah, I really do.”

            The whole time we talked, we watched the armadillo digging around a sprinkler head.  It didn’t look like the pipe was going to survive the digging.  Emily would have to do some serious begging!

            So, here we were, in the backyard, Emily crying and pleading, the armadillo scrabbling away in the big plastic box Dad put it in, Dad scowling at the damage in the yard, and me just keeping my mouth shut.

            I have to admit, I wasn’t all that surprised when Dad finally said, “I’m sorry, Em, but we’ve just got to get rid of the armadillo.”

            I was surprised, though, when he added, “But, I think it may be time to get a dog.  A really big dog.”  Yippeee!!!

How to Get Rid of Armadillos

how to get rid of armadillos
            I consider myself pretty athletic, so I thought I’d have no problems getting rid of the armadillo from my backyard.  I’m on the track team at school and play on a regional basketball team, so I thought I’d have no problem running after the armadillo that’s been digging up our backyard, but I had no idea what I was up against!

            At first, my Mom and I thought the armadillo was pretty cute.  I know, it’s not like it’s a puppy dog or adorable bunny, but it’s still cute.  When we first saw it, it waddled and hopped around in our backyard, snuffling everywhere in the grass.  We took pictures and laughed as our cat chased it around and batted at its hard shell.  Every now and then, when it got scared by the cat, it would jump straight up into the air. 

            We’re not laughing now, though.  There are holes and burrows all over our backyard, it’s scratched up the lawn, the mulch we laid in landscaping areas has been thrown everywhere, and it’s even killed some of our garden plants.  We didn’t make the connection with the armadillo at first.  We thought maybe a dog was digging around in our yard, until we saw the den.  The floorboards in our back patio had started to sag, and when I investigated, I found a pretty big burrow.  When we finally put it all together, we realized we needed to find out how to get rid of armadillos quick, or we’d end up losing the patio, garden, yard, or worse.  What if water got into the den up against our foundation?  Not good, I’m sure!

            So, one evening, I heard the armadillo’s shell rubbing up against the house.  I put on my shoes and headed outside, determined to catch the thing.  I approached it and reached out, and was surprised when it hopped out of my reach and took off scooting/hopping across the yard.  Those suckers can move faster than I thought they could!  But, I was on the run team, so I was sure it wasn’t a problem.  Just as I caught up with it, it threw itself into a ninety degree angle and took off toward the neighbor’s house.  I skidded, slipped, caught my balance and ran off after it again. 

            Soon, it was within my reach again, and I reached out.  My right hand touched its armored back and my left hand just barely got its tail.  I thought the chase was over, but then it bucked and kicked, and I shrieked and let go.  It took off again, but I was done.  Sheepishly, I looked around, hoping no one saw my clownish grabbing, running and yelping.  Fortunatley, I didn’t see anyone, and resolved the best way to get rid of armadillos is to get a professional wildlife removal specialist.  Let THEM run all over like idiots.  Okay, they probably have the right equipment for it.  As long as I don’t ever have to chase one around again!