These nocturnal animals are found all over central Florida, regardless of city or country population. You would most likely picture a well armored critter that you see waddling across the street in the dark. Because of their propensity for leprosy, armadillos are important study subjects for the disease and its cure.When you think about an armadillo, cute and cuddly doesn’t come to mind. Arvind Dhople (a member of the International Leprosy Association, American Society for Microbiology, and the International Society for Infectious Diseases) estimates there are about 5–10 cases of Leprosy per year coming out of Texas and Louisiana that may be attributed to contact with armadillos. According to an article I read by Suzanne Wilson in the Missouri Conservationist (a publication by the Missouri Department of Conservation), Dr. Although it is extremely rare, armadillos can carry the leprosy bacteria and potentially spread it to humans, especially if you handle them often or if you don’t cook them properly before eating them. I am also not trying to tell you to be careless with armadillos. They have a relatively low body temperature (92–95 degrees F). So it makes sense that armadillos would be ideal hosts. Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, thrives in humans in the cooler extremities of the body, such as hands, feet, noses, and ears. In Texas and Louisiana, about 1 in 6 armadillos carry leprosy (Mycobacterium leprae). I simply think that this is pretty interesting. Besides that, it’s not terribly contagious. In fact, it’s believed that around 95% of humans are naturally immune. Plants – On a brighter note, armadillos will eat plants when they need to, and there is usually ample plant food around.īelieve me, I am not trying to scare you into getting rid of armadillos.They compete with skunks and many types of birds for the aging remains of dead animals. Decaying animals – Armadillos have no problem being a scavenger.Lizards – Lizards are pretty common in areas where armadillos are also common - namely, parts of the southern USA.
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Beetles – When armadillos are foraging in the evening, they are often looking for beetles that came out during the day.
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Fire Ants – In this respect, armadillos might be kind of good.Earthworms – The kind that like to live in the top 4 inches or so of soil - giving the armadillo another reason to dig.Remove the food source, and remove the pest!Ī few of the other things armadillos love to eat include: It is suggested that Getting Rid of Grubs will help reduce armadillo damage to your yard. Oftentimes, the little holes found in yards are due to armadillos searching for them. One of the armadillo’s favorite meals is a grub. For some ideas on how to do so, read on.Īrmadillos eat any number of creepy crawlies, trash, plants, and even dead animals. So yeah, the urge to get rid of armadillos is well founded.
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This can pose a serious threat to the foundation of your home and cattle, as well as crack driveways or patios. A nine-banded armadillo burrow is usually about 7 or 8 inches across and can be 15 or more feet deep. Even worse than that is when they decide your yard and beautiful landscaping look like nice places to live and raise a family. These dillo holes average 1–3 inches deep and 3–5 inches long. When looking for food, the armadillos use their extra sharp claws to dig up little holes in your yard. Getting rid of armadillos should be a priority if you want to keep your yard and other environs in good shape. When they are young, they drink their mother’s milk just like many other mammals do.Īrmadillos, aside from being cute and quite ugly at the same time, can be quite destructive. Perhaps the most interesting thing about armadillos is the fact that they almost always give birth to identical quadruplets, which really just means that there’s gonna be four more critters out there to get rid of. Adult nine-banded armadillos are about 2 feet long, weigh 8–17lbs, have a thick candy shell of true bone, and are arguably kinda cute.Īll of the armadillo species have terrible eyesight but very keen senses of hearing and sound. Their closest relatives in the animal kingdom (besides other ‘dillos) are sloths and anteaters.
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These strange mammals (yes, mammals) were first reported in the U.S. Of those twenty odd species, only one can be found in the United States: the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus). There are about twenty species of armadillo found worldwide. It is armored, sleeps about 16 hours a day, and strongly prefers hot weather.