You can get rid of armadillos under deck with cost-effective and simple remedies. Armadillos can be quite disastrous for houses. With a great sense of smell, they can find their way into your yard and deck causing potential damage.
In this article, we share some techniques to get rid of armadillos using effective solutions. Get tips on how you can keep your house free from armadillo holes. Read further and keep armadillos away from your property for good!
Contents
How To Get Rid of Armadillos Under House
Armadillos can be a problem to your house, garden, or yard. They can damage plant beds or even shake the foundations of your house. If you are desperate to know how to get rid of armadillos under house, then try these simple techniques.
– Cut All Food Sources
Armadillos come looking for grubs and worms. By eliminating this food source, you can get rid of armadillo burrowing under house. Free your soil from insects, worms and grubs. This will cut their supply of food and you will soon have them scurrying elsewhere.
– Set Up Baits and Live Traps for the Armadillo
Set up live traps with baits to capture the armadillos under your house. Worms are the best bait you can use to trap the armadillos. For armadillo holes under house, choose a sturdy cage that can handle the animal’s strength. Use earthworms in a ball of dirt as bait, sticking it deep inside the toe of an old sock or stocking. Place this right into the trap.
Set the cage up near the burrow where the damage has occurred, such as along the fence or under shrubs. Position the cage in a way to get the armadillo to walk right through it when they smell the food, so that they step on the trigger plate. You can also use a wide board to direct the armadillo straight into the trap.
You will need to wait a few days after the trap is set to lure the animal into the cage. Once you catch the armadillo, release it in an area several miles away from your house. As an alternative, you can call animal control in your area to help move it away.
– Use Leaf Litter With Fruit Pieces on Them
When setting up live traps and baits, place leaf litter over the trap entrances, with pieces of fruit on them. Armadillos love fruits and will thus get lured by them.
It is an easy way to get them over to the trap.
– Sprinkle Repellents- Smells That Keep the Armadillos Away
Sprinkle strong repellents such as ammonia, vinegar, or pine cleaner for getting rid of armadillos. Get this done at the opening of burrows or at the base of the deck. Armadillos follow a path using their strong sense of smell. You can repel them by using smells that are not familiar to them. Make your yard smell of stinging repellents. This will keep them away from their burrows for weeks.
How To Get an Armadillo Out of Its Hole?
Armadillos often use holes or burrows as dens to nurse their young. They dig deep holes around the house for this purpose. Thus, it is important to drive them out of their holes as soon as possible to avoid structural damage. The following ways can help you to drive an armadillo out of its hole.
– Flood the Armadillo Out of Its Hole
Armadillos dig circular-shaped burrows. A typical burrow can have many entry holes. To flood the armadillo out, insert a garden hose into any one hole. Turn on the water. As it begins to fall into the holes, the armadillo will get flushed out.
– Spray Castor Oil
Castor oil-based repellents, with their strong smell, can drive armadillos out. Use a spray bottle to spray the area around the hole with castor oil. It is a natural remedy to repel the animal out. It also prevents armadillos burrowing under house and digging for food later.
– Use of Ammonia
Use ammonia by spraying it around the area where the armadillo is. The strong smell of ammonia will get the armadillo out of its hole.
Keep a trap ready to capture it when it makes its way out of the hole.
– Apply Predator Urine Near the Hole
Armadillos get put off by strong unfamiliar smells. Using predator urine is another effective way to get them out of the burrow. Spray predator urine near the armadillo holes under the house. This will scare the armadillo as he fears the presence of a predator nearby, forcing him out of the burrow.
How To Keep Armadillos Away From the Garden?
Armadillos are great at digging. They dig looking for food and in the process can cause potential damage to flower beds in your garden.
There are ways to keep armadillo away and protect the flower beds in your garden. In case you are experiencing such a problem, in this section you will find some of the ways by which you can keep armadillo away.
– Locate and Seal All Available Entrances
Armadillos usually live in the woods, hiding under bushes. Being nocturnal, they travel from one house to another in search of grub and worms. They return night after night following the scent of their burrow. Locate and seal all entrances that you spot. Spray repellents with unfamiliar and strong smells. This will deter armadillos from entering the garden.
– Keep Your Garden Free of Small Organisms
Garden plants attract small organisms such as insects and worms. These are a feast to the armadillos. Watch your garden for such organisms and reduce their presence.
– Sprinkle Cayenne Pepper Around Your Garden
Sprinkle cayenne pepper all around your garden. Do this at all suspected entry points of the animal. The smell of the cayenne pepper acts as a deterrent to the armadillo. As soon as the Armadillos sniff cayenne pepper, they avoid the path ahead. They will walk their way out of the garden without much of a problem.
– Keep Your Garden Inhospitable for the Armadillo
Use wood chips all along the periphery of your yard or flower beds. This will make it difficult for the armadillo to dig, as the hardwood chip will be a hindrance.
– Keep Outdoor Dogs
Outdoor dogs in your yard will chase away the armadillo. Armadillos do not like the smell of a dog nor their barking. This will keep them away from your garden for a long time.
– Install In-ground Fence
A remedy to keep armadillos away is by installing in-ground fences. This also keeps other pests away. The fence must go deep inside the ground. It will prevent armadillos from burrowing underneath and getting inside your yard or house.
How To Keep Armadillos Away
Whether the armadillo is under your deck, or whether it is in holes the damage they can cause is immense. In the following section, find ways to keep away an armadillo from burrowing under the house.
– Inspect for Holes
Armadillos like to burrow around foundations. Scan the entire perimeter of your house. Look under the deck and your garden where you find the most vegetation. Check for holes and burrows near shrubs, flowerbeds, tall grass, and trees. Locate them all and seal entrances to trap them down or prevent any further entry.
– Don’t Let Them Settle Down
If you find burrows in your garden, it is likely that the animal is making its way through. Don’t let them settle down and nest young ones within your property. Take effective measures as soon as possible. You can remove food sources, sprinkle repellents, and flood the holes. Use stones and leaves to cover up the burrows.
– Install Bright Lights Around Your Garden
Armadillos are nocturnal and despise bright lights. They hunt for their grub in the dark of the night. Install bright lights in your garden or where the armadillo can enter by digging burrows. This will scare them and keep them away from your property.
– Have a Strong Fence Built Around
Having a strong fence built around your yard can do a great job. It can protect your property from armadillos. Have a trench of 12 to 15 inches dug and fix a stout fence over it. Ensure there is no space that may be big enough for the armadillos to crawl in. The fence will also make it difficult for the armadillo to dig holes to enter your yard or property.
– Wear Gloves Before Capturing Armadillos
Armadillos have a strong sense of smell and avoid human scents. Wear gloves before you place baits or set traps for the animal, so they do not suspect they are being set up.
Besides, armadillos can carry leprosy, so always wearing gloves before you get started on direct contact with the animal is also a security measure.
FAQ
Does Pine Sol repel armadillos?
Pine Sol may help repel armadillos due to its strong scent, but it’s not a foolproof solution.
Will lights keep armadillos away?
Lights alone are unlikely to deter armadillos; you need a combination of methods for effective repellent.
How do you stop armadillos from digging holes in your yard?
To prevent armadillos from digging in your yard, install barriers, remove potential food sources, and use repellents.
To Summarize
Now that you have read our expert tips, you can get rid of armadillos under the deck of your house. Use these cost-effective methods to keep the armadillos away from your property:
- Cut all food sources
- Set up baits and live traps for the armadillos
- Sprinkle repellents that have strong smells that keep the armadillos away
- Install in-ground fence
- Install bright lights around your garden
- Flood the armadillo out of its hole using a garden hose
Now that you know what to do, you are ready to go out there and get rid of the intruder!
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