Excuse me while I ROFL.

Purrs that the armadillo did indeed learn a lesson.

"Armadillos apparently can jump flat-footed five feet
in the air."

They can?  Wow, i didn't know that

" I was NOT expecting that and it scared the bejeesus out of
me. "

Well i don't blame you.  but it must have been funny to watch. hehe

"I really hope it doesn't come back. "

Um, does the local animal control handle armadillos?

Kristi

Armadillos are a *major* problem here.  One section of my back yard looked
like it had been ploughed before we caught and relocated that one.  Every
morning, an area of sod would be completely turned over, and I would go out
and turn it "right-side-up," but much of that area eventually died.  People
told me it was because I had such good soil that the armadillos were trying
to get grubs and worms.  Probably true, but I refuse to use insecticides to
get rid of that problem!  Of much more importance, I even had an armadillo
build such a large burrow under the concrete pad that supports my air
conditioner compresser that one sizable corner was simply left hanging in
space.  That happened twice, and then a man who works for me filled it in
with dirt and rocks and put rebar all around to prevent more "trenching."
We finally caught and relocated that one, too.

Okay, two things that may help you:  (1) You need to relocate an armadillo
*several miles* away.  Otherwise, they are likely to find their way back.
You also need to make arrangements with someone with a large farm or other
large acreage who will not object to your relocation project.  Otherwise,
you will simply foist your problem onto someone else.  (2) My neighbor made
some *wonderful* armadillo traps, and he traps and relocates for everyone in
the neighborhood (relocates to his own farm that is about 8 miles past the
city limits).  The trap is his own version of a hav-a-hart type of trap.  It
can take awhile to work, but he has caught several.  Send me email if you
would like to see a picture, and I will also try to describe the basics of
it at that time.

MaryL

Can't help with the 'dillo, but I do wish you luck.  My sister in FL had
one or more digging up her yard and hired a service to trap it.  They
caught every other kind of varmint in the neighborhood (raccoons,
possums, etc.) but not the 'dillo.  I'm not sure if if went away
eventually on its own.

-Caroline S.

Gloves and such are appropriate. They aren't especially aggressive, but
there is a low but unique disease risk.  Armadillos are the only
nonhuman creature that, in the wild, can carry Hansen's Disease (i.e.,
leprosy).  

Given how hard that disease is to transmit among humans, ordinary
washing should be more than adequate, but just remember to do so after
any contact.

I hope it works for you, Sherry!  Never had any experiences with armadillos
and I must say this story fascinated me!
Christine

giggling at the story.
How big is the average armadillo?

< snip >

You should have asked for group advice *first* in this case. I bet there's a
lot of armadillo wisdom among us, with so many members in 'dillo territory.

A dog in the yard at night will keep them away.

JEEZ LOUISE!  I wouldn't expect that.  Holy mother of all things
weirdly armored.

Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

Make Levees, Not War

That is too funny!

I saw an armadillo jump in Florida and I couldn't believe it. It was
actually quite cute.

I would imagine that trying to catch one would be like trying to catch a
small kangaroo.

Rhonda

sriddles@aol.com wrote in news:1143438717.978091.248040
@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com:

<snip delightful story>  

I have absolutely no experience of armadilloes, but I googled 'how to
catch an armadillo' (without the quote marks) and came up with a slew of
hits.  Apparently, if you know what you're doing, it's easy.  At least
according to a couple of those sites.  One suggested the bait should be a
ball of earthworms hung up in a stocking, placed in a raccoon trap.  

This guy speaks from personal experience:  
http://ufinsect.ifas.ufl.edu/armadillo.htm

If you do make another attempt, please tell us all about it.  

Chak

news:1143438717.978091.248040@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...

How exciting to have wild armadillo in your yard! I wish I had one.  I
thought they were native to South America?
Alison

Two words, Sherry.....LAND MINES!!!

Seriously, I've been fighting them for a year, now.  We moved into our
new house in the summer and instead of trying to keep new plants in
the yard alive through a Texas summer, elected to just prepare the
beds and wait until the next spring to plant.  Preparing the beds
involved adding compost, dried molasses and all the good stuff,
rototilling it in and letting it cook all winter.  I was most pleased
to see worms, etc while planting last spring.  Unfortunately, what we
had done was create a fantastic smorgasbord for the b*s*a%rds!!  I'll
spare you the gory details but it wasn't pretty what they did to my
lovingly planted flower beds!!!  

I finally outsmarted them by putting in decorative 18" high fencing
around all my beds. (I'm lucky...all my beds are bordered by concrete
so they can't dig under the fence...or at least haven't
yet....gulp...).  The yard is another matter still.  We're still
finding holes.  The county agent told us there was nothing that would
deter them (I believe the phrase "God's dumbest creature" was
mentioned).  She said a dog would work but trapping was difficult.
So about all I can do is commiserate at this point...Let us know if
anything works.....

--Kim

I'm sorry but........ROTFLMAO!!!!! (wipes tears from eyes). Oh man, I
know it wasn't funny to you, but man that made ME laugh.

YEOW!  I didn't know that either.  Please be careful and don't get
yourself hurt!

You're going to have to trap it in a live trap and then relocate it.  I
think they're pretty cute little things, especially when they are
young.
-L.
(no armadillos here...)