Growing up in south Alabama, I never saw an armadillo and do not remember armadillos being the subject of any family discussions. Stories about damage they were doing to folk’s yards back then were isolated to south Florida. Boy, have things changed as one particular armadillo has been the subject of many recent discussions at my dinner table.

About two years ago, an armadillo invaded my neighborhood and my yard in particular. Due to the damage it was doing to my wife’s flower beds and my manicured lawn, I began researching information about how to control armadillos. I had read they swam across the mighty Mississippi River so I knew I had a tough foe on my hands.

The information I found indicated that armadillos are almost impossible to trap due to the fact that they will not go in a trap baited with anything including the worms and grubs that they normally feast upon. However my research indicated there had been some success using traps by building a chute that would presumably guide them into a trap.

I immediately went to Lowe’s and purchased some 10 foot long boards and began construction of a chute that would hopefully guide them into my trap. Research indicated you should pick an area where their activity was heaviest and place the boards in that area.

The instructions were to start the chute wide at one end and then narrow the chute down as it approached the trap so that it would guide the armadillo right into the trap. That sounded simple enough.

For several days I placed the chute in several strategic locations where there was activity but I had no success. Armadillos are about blind but for some reason that armadillo visiting my yard did not fall for going up the chute. I finally gave up on the chute idea and went back to my research.

Further research indicated the second recommended option for controlling armadillos was to apply insecticide pellets to the flower beds and lawn to kill the worms and grubs and anything else that the armadillos might be feeding on.

Applying the insecticide would unfortunately kill the worms that are good for aerating the soil but I decided I had to try the option to negate all the damage to my yard being done nightly by the armadillo. I returned to Lowe’s and purchased enough granulated insecticide pellets to treat my entire yard.

Several days after applying the insecticide, I noticed less damage was occurring and finally it appeared the armadillo had decided to move on to a neighbor’s yard. However about two months later the armadillo returned and I realized that the insecticide degraded over time and apparently it would have to be applied several times a year to effectively control the worms, grubs and also the armadillo.

I did not like applying that much insecticide to my yard where grandchildren would be playing so I once again went back to my research on armadillo control. Further research indicated that there was no other nonlethal means to control the armadillo.

I then turned my attention to a lethal means for armadillo control. I had a number of high powered rifles but I did not want to discharge them close to my home or the homes of my neighbors. My sons knew of the problem I was having with the armadillo and surprised me one day by purchasing me what they referred to as an “armadillo gun” which turned out to be a single barrel 20 gauge shotgun.

Along with the shotgun they purchased me a box of number 7.5 shot ammunition. Having seen some dead armadillos up close and having read about their body armor, I decided to purchase a box of buckshot for the shotgun just to make sure that if I got a shot it would be lethal.

Now I had to figure out how to be present when the armadillo appeared in my yard. The armadillo is nocturnal and that meant he could arrive in my yard anytime between dusk and dawn to do its damage. The thought of staying up all night was not all that appealing so I decided I would alternate times at night when I would inspect my yard in an attempt to catch the armadillo in the act.

By now the armadillo was tearing up huge chunks of my yard and I knew I had to really get aggressive. Over the next two weeks I walked the yard at different nighttime hours but it seemed like the armadillo would always come before or after I checked the yard.

Then one night I noticed my security light come on a few minutes after midnight. I jumped out of bed and when I looked out the window, there was the armadillo digging up my sod. I grabbed my “armadillo gun” and barefooted I eased out of the house and walked within ten feet of the armadillo. As it continued to dig up my grass and was totally unaware of my presence, I fired one lethal shot.

I had warned all my by neighbors that if they heard a shot during the night to not be alarmed because the shot would likely be from my “armadillo gun”. It has been a few days since that armadillo’s demise so hopefully all the damage was being done by a single armadillo. If not my “armadillo gun” may have to see further action. Good hunting and see next week.