Stop Digging: Expert Tips On How To Deter Armadillos From Yard

Armadillos come to your yard looking for food and shelter. They dig because their main food, like grubs and bugs, is usually found in the ground. This digging can cause big problems, making holes in your lawn and garden beds. We can help you find ways to stop armadillos from digging in your yard and use armadillo yard damage solutions. This guide gives you simple tips to keep these animals away.

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Why Armadillos Visit Your Yard

To stop armadillos, you first need to know why they show up. They are looking for things they need to live. Your yard might have just what they want.

Food: A Main Reason They Come

Armadillos love to eat bugs. They look for food in the soil.

What They Eat

Armadillos eat mostly insects. They also eat worms, spiders, and other small things in the ground. Sometimes they eat berries or other plant parts. But their main food is bugs.

How Food Brings Them

If your yard has many grubs (bug babies) or earthworms, armadillos will find it. They use their good sense of smell to find food underground. Once they smell food, they start digging to get it. A yard full of tasty bugs is like a big dinner sign for them.

Shelter: Finding a Home

Armadillos need places to hide and rest. They dig burrows (holes in the ground) for this.

Burrows keep them safe from danger. They also offer a place to stay cool in the summer. And they give warmth in the winter. An armadillo burrow can be several feet long. Finding a quiet, safe spot in your yard means they might try to build a home there.

Water: Staying Hydrated

Like all animals, armadillos need water. If your yard has a water source, it can attract them. This could be a bird bath, a pond, or even just standing water after rain.

Soft Ground: Easy Digging

Armadillos are built to dig. But soft, loose soil is much easier for them. If your soil is easy to dig in, they will like your yard more. They can dig for food or make a burrow fast.

First Steps to Stop Digging

Making your yard less attractive is the first step. You want to remove the things that bring them in.

Clean Up Your Yard

Make sure there is nothing extra lying around. Pick up fallen fruit. Clean up pet food that is left outside. Put trash cans away tightly. These things can be easy food for armadillos. Removing them helps prevent armadillos in lawn.

Fix Wet Spots

Fix any leaks or areas where water stands. Wet soil can mean more bugs. It also makes digging easier. Keep your yard dry to make it less appealing.

Make Soil Less Soft

You can make your soil harder. This makes it harder for armadillos to dig. Adding mulch or gravel in certain areas can help. Some people roll their lawn. This can pack down the soil a bit.

Stopping Them Without Harm

You can use ways to keep armadillos away that do not hurt them. These are often called natural armadillo deterrents or humane armadillo removal methods.

Making Barriers: Fences and More

Putting up fences or other blocks is a good way to keep armadillos out of garden areas or your whole yard. Armadillos are not great climbers. But they are good at digging under things.

Building a Simple Fence

A fence needs to be strong enough to block them. It also needs to go into the ground.

• Fence Material: Use strong fence material. Chicken wire or hardware cloth works well. The holes should be small. This stops them from getting through. A height of about 2 feet is usually enough above ground.
• Digging Depth: This is very important. Bury the fence material deep. Go at least 1 to 1.5 feet down. Bend the bottom part of the fence outwards at a 90-degree angle. Bury this part, too. This buried L-shape is key. If an armadillo tries to dig under the fence, it will hit the buried part. It will then dig away from the fence, not under it.
• Closing Gaps: Make sure the fence has no gaps. Check where the fence meets the ground. Check where sections of fence meet. Armadillos can get through small openings.

Fixing Holes in Fences

If you already have a fence, look for holes or weak spots. Armadillos are good at finding these. Fix them right away. Use the same strong wire mesh. Bury the bottom part deep.

Protecting Special Areas (Gardens)

Maybe you only need to protect your vegetable garden or a flower bed. You can build a small fence around just that area. Use the same burial method to make sure they cannot dig under. This is a simple way to keep armadillos out of garden areas without fencing your whole yard.

Making Your Yard Unfriendly

Armadillos do not like certain smells or sounds. You can use these things to make them want to leave. These are natural armadillo deterrents.

Natural Smells They Don’t Like

Armadillos rely on smell to find food. Strong smells they dislike can bother them.

• Garlic and Onions: Mixing chopped garlic or onion with water makes a strong spray. Spray this around areas where they dig. The strong smell can bother their noses.
• Vinegar: White vinegar has a strong smell. Soak rags in vinegar and place them near burrows or digging spots. Be careful not to harm plants with direct vinegar spray.
• Cayenne Pepper or Hot Sauces: Spicy smells can also bother animals. Mixing cayenne pepper with water and spraying it might work. Reapply often, especially after rain.
• Mothballs: Some people suggest using mothballs. However, mothballs are toxic. They can be harmful to pets, children, and other wildlife. It is not a recommended or truly natural method. It is better to use safer options.
• Predator Urine: Smells of animals that hunt armadillos might scare them. You can buy products like fox or coyote urine. Place these smells near where armadillos are active. The idea is the armadillo thinks a danger is nearby.

Things That Make Noise or Light

Armadillos are shy and mostly active at night. Sudden noise or light can scare them.

• Motion-Activated Sprinklers: These sprinklers turn on when something moves in front of them. The sudden water spray and noise can startle an armadillo and make it run away. Place these near digging spots or along paths they use.
• Motion-Activated Lights: Bright lights that turn on suddenly can also scare them. Install these lights in areas where you see armadillo activity at night.
• Loud Noises: Some people use radios playing loudly near burrows. This is less reliable. The armadillo might just get used to the noise. Sudden, unpredictable noise is better.

Changing How You Water

Watering your lawn less often, but more deeply, can help. This makes the top layer of soil drier. Drier soil has fewer grubs and is harder to dig. This removes a food source and makes digging harder.

Repellents: Do They Work?

Many products claim to repel armadillos from property. These are often called best armadillo repellents. But how well do they really work?

Repellents often use smells or tastes armadillos dislike. They might contain things like castor oil, garlic, or other strong-smelling ingredients.

Types of Repellents

Smell-Based

These repellents use smells armadillos are supposed to hate. The idea is the smell makes the area unpleasant. They might smell like things armadillos think are dangerous or just very bad smells.

Taste-Based

These are less common for armadillos. They would involve spraying something on plants or soil that tastes bad if the armadillo eats it. Since armadillos dig for food, a taste repellent would need to make the soil taste bad.

Why Repellents Are Not Always Best

Many experts agree that repellents are often not very effective. Here is why:

• Armadillos are Driven by Food: If your yard has a lot of their favorite food (grubs!), a bad smell might not stop them. They might put up with the smell to get the easy meal.
• They Wash Away: Rain and watering make spray repellents weaker. You have to put them on again and again. This takes time and costs money.
• They Can Get Used to Them: Sometimes, animals just get used to the smell or taste over time. It does not bother them anymore.
• They Just Go Somewhere Else: A repellent might make them leave one spot in your yard. But they might just move to a different part that was not sprayed.

How to Use Repellents (If you try them)

If you still want to try repellents, follow the directions on the product label carefully.

• Use Enough: Make sure you spray or spread enough product in the right areas.
• Spray Often: Reapply as the label says, especially after rain or watering.
• Target Areas: Focus on areas where you see digging or along the edge of your yard.

While repellents are one of the armadillo control methods, they are usually less reliable than other methods like fencing or removing food sources. Think of them as a possible extra step, not the main solution.

Removing Armadillos Safely

Sometimes, deterring them is not enough. If an armadillo is already living in your yard, you might need to remove it. The most humane way is often trapping it alive. This is part of humane armadillo removal.

Trapping With Care

Live traps catch the animal without hurting it. You can then move it somewhere else.

What Kind of Trap to Use

Use a medium to large size live trap. It should be strong metal wire. A trap about 10x12x32 inches works well for armadillos. Look for a trap where both ends open. This can make the armadillo feel safer going in.

Where to Put the Trap

Place the trap near the armadillo’s burrow entrance. You can also put it along paths you see the armadillo use. Armadillos often follow fences or walls. Placing the trap along a fence line can be effective. You can use boards or logs to make a funnel shape leading into the trap entrance.

What to Put in the Trap

What bait works best for armadillos? This can be tricky. Since they eat bugs, trapping is often more about placement near their path or burrow than the bait itself.

• Worms or Grubs: Live earthworms or grubs are the best bait. Put them in a small container that the armadillo has to enter the trap to reach. A piece of pantyhose or a plastic container with small holes can work.
• Rotten Fruit: Some people have luck with rotten or overripe fruit.
• A Piece of the Lawn: Oddly, some trappers just put a piece of the sod they were digging in inside the trap. The familiar smell might draw them in.

Place the bait at the far end of the trap. Make sure the trap is level and stable.

What to Do After Catching One

Check the trap often, at least once in the morning and once in the evening. If you catch an armadillo, keep the trap covered with a blanket or tarp. This helps keep the animal calm.

• Relocation: This is the part that needs careful thought.

  • Check Local Laws: It is very important to know the laws in your area. In many places, moving wild animals is against the law. It might require a permit. Some areas do not allow relocating animals at all.
  • Where to Move: If allowed, choose a place several miles away. It should be a place with woods or fields, away from other homes. Do not just move it to your neighbor’s yard!
  • Release: Open the trap carefully and let the armadillo run out.

• Other Options: If relocation is not allowed or possible, you may need to call a wildlife control service. They know the rules and have ways to handle the animal.

Remember, trapping is a temporary fix if you do not also remove what attracted the armadillo in the first place. An empty spot in your yard might just invite another armadillo later. This is why changing your yard (food, shelter, fences) is key for long-term results.

When to Call for Help (Pest Control Experts)

If you have many armadillos, or if trapping seems too hard, you can call a professional. Pest control companies or wildlife removal services can help. They have experience and tools to catch and remove armadillos. They also know the local laws for animal removal. This is another type of armadillo control method.

Keeping Them Away for Good

Stopping the armadillos that are there is one thing. Keeping new ones from coming is another. This needs ongoing effort.

Check Your Yard Often

Walk around your yard regularly. Look for new holes or signs of digging. The sooner you find new activity, the sooner you can act. This helps prevent armadillos in lawn before the problem gets big.

Keep Up the Barriers

If you built fences, check them often. Make sure there are no new holes or spots where they could dig under. Fix any damage right away.

Manage Food Sources

Keep working to reduce the food in your yard.

• Grub Control: If you think grubs are the main problem, you can treat your lawn for grubs. There are different ways to do this. Some use chemicals, others use natural methods like beneficial nematodes. These are tiny worms that kill grubs. Reducing grubs makes your yard less tasty for armadillos.
• Cleanliness: Keep following the cleanup steps mentioned earlier. No easy meals means less reason to visit.

These steps help create a yard that armadillos do not find appealing. This is the best way to repel armadillos from property in the long run. It is about making your yard a place they do not want to be.

Comparing Ways to Deter Armadillos

Here is a simple look at different methods.

Method	How it Works	Ease of Use	Cost	Effectiveness	Humane?
Habitat Change	Remove food (bugs), fix water, firm soil	Medium (ongoing effort)	Low to Medium	High (long-term)	Yes
Fencing/Barriers	Physically block entry (bury deep!)	Medium to Hard (install)	Medium to High	High (if done right)	Yes
Natural Smells/Sounds	Make yard unpleasant with smells/noise/light	Easy (sprays, devices)	Low to Medium	Low to Medium	Yes
Chemical Repellents	Use bad smells/tastes from a bottle	Easy (spraying)	Medium	Low	Usually Yes
Live Trapping	Catch animal to move it	Medium (setting trap)	Medium (trap cost)	High (for caught animal)	Yes (if done right & legal)
Professional Service	Call experts for help	Very Easy (they do it)	High	High	Yes (reputable ones)

This table helps you see which methods might work best for your situation. Often, using a few methods together works better than just using one. For example, fixing food problems and putting up a small fence around your garden. This is part of using many armadillo control methods at once.

Final Thoughts on Stopping Digging

Dealing with armadillos in your yard can be annoying. Their digging makes a mess. But you can take steps to stop them. The most important thing is to make your yard less inviting. Remove their food sources. Fix places where they might find shelter or water easily.

Using physical barriers like well-built fences is often the most reliable way to stop armadillos from digging in specific areas like gardens. Natural deterrents like smells and lights can help, but they might not solve the whole problem. Repellents are usually not the best first step.

If you have an armadillo living in your yard, humane trapping and removal can work. But always know the rules in your area first.

Remember, keeping your yard tidy and less bug-filled is key. Check your yard often for new signs of digging. Fixing problems quickly helps a lot. By using these tips, you can protect your lawn and garden. You can have a nice yard again without holes. You can find effective armadillo yard damage solutions by focusing on prevention.

Questions People Ask Often (FAQ)

Here are answers to some common questions about armadillos in yards.

Q: Can armadillos climb fences?

No, armadillos are not good climbers. They have claws for digging, not for climbing. A fence even just 1 to 2 feet high can stop them if they cannot dig under it.

Q: Are armadillos dangerous?

Armadillos are generally shy. They are not likely to attack people or pets. However, if cornered, they might try to scratch or bite. It is best to stay away from them.

Q: Do armadillos carry diseases?

Yes, armadillos can carry leprosy (Hansen’s disease). This is rare in humans, but it is possible to get it from handling an armadillo. It is very important to avoid touching armadillos. If you must handle a trap with one inside, wear thick gloves.

Q: How fast do armadillos dig?

Armadillos are very fast diggers. They can dig a burrow or dig into the ground for food quickly, sometimes in just a few minutes. This is why they can make many holes in a single night.

Q: How deep do they dig burrows?

Armadillo burrows can be quite deep. They often go several feet into the ground. They can be long too, up to 20 feet or more. This is why it is hard to get them out of a burrow once they are in it. Focusing on preventing the burrow is much easier.