Over the past couple of months, we’ve seen an increase in calls regarding lawn and landscape damage caused by armadillos. Most of the time, the questions is how can our clients stop armadillos from digging up their lawns?
The armadillo is a very unusual creature. They’ve been around forever, and are in a family that is similar to the anteaters. They thrive in warm climates with soft soil, such as much of Gainesville, Florida lawn and landscapes. They have an excellent sense of smell. When startled, they often jump and run surprisingly fast. They are usually about two feet long and about 12 pounds as adults. They are primarily nocturnal, but sometimes emerge after a rain or in cooler weather.
The problem with armadillos in more populated areas is that they dig for all of their food, which consists primarily of grubs and earthworms. Armadillos are expert diggers and they can cause serious damage to a lawn or a nicely landscaped mulch beds. They often dig holes in undesirable places, such as underneath a concrete porch, the foundation of a house, or near gas/water lines. If they remove too much dirt from under a concrete foundation, the foundation faces the danger of cracking or settling, as well.
TMLC's first line of defense against armadillos is grub prevention (call to learn more.) Be sure and treat your lawn in late spring/early summer with a grub preventative to reduce the amount of food for Armadillos in the soil. This doesn’t always prevent the armadillos, but it seems to cut down on them.
If they still decide to dig in your lawn (armadillos aren’t the smartest animals around) we have seen some success with applying sulfur. It’s sort of voodoo when you use it to chase off animals and it’s certainly not a guaranteed cure but more often than not it improves things. For those worried about applying sulfur, rest easy; many people apply sulfur to their legs when they are hiking to prevent chiggers. It is also safe on lawns (in fact up north it is used to improve the PH of their soil.)
If you still need help or have questions please give us a call at 378-LAWN, email me at rusty@themasterslawncare.com or fill out our contact form. We offer a full range of affordable services for your Gainesville lawn and landscape and would be happy to give you a free quote on any of our services.