How Do You Trap An Armadillo?

11.04.2006

- Do not use any bait. Armadillos dig for their food, and they won't eat surface food.

- Set a large steel cage trap, at least 30x10x12, on the armadillo path, or on or near the burrow. It's an art, and it's hard to describe how to do it just right. Also, make sure the trap does not shake or wobble, and that you've lined the bottom of the trap with dirt and debris.

- To help, you can set barriers that help direct the animal into the trap, and set the trap along edges, such as the edge of your house or a fence.

- Be sure the check the trap every morning, and never leave an armadillo suffering in a trap for a long time. Drive the animal at least 5 miles away and relocate it.

"How do you trap armadillos?" Many an exasperating phone conversation starts with this question on the other end of the line. Even though I have gone to great lengths to make it explicitly clear that I simply do not want every yokel across the country calling me with nuisance wildlife questions - after all, when you call me, I WILL be engaged in one of the following activities: sleeping, driving, working on a roof, or working in an attic - seriously, these are the only things I do. Sometimes I eat or type on my computer.

Okay then, so I'm doing one of these things, when I get the call: an uneducated voice from Alabama starts off, "How do I trap an armadillo?". This is the second most common type of rude call that I get, after requests to identify snakes based on vague descriptions. Well, I'll tell you here and now, how to trap armadillos, so you don't call me mid-ladder-climb. (They always wait until I'm up on a ladder before they call). The advice is, hire a nuisance wildlife trapper. I know that's crummy advice, but my advice for a toothache is to visit the dentist. Professionals exist for a reason, and in most cases I hope, know what they're doing. I don't know why so many people seem to think they can handle their wildlife issues on their own. I mean, some stuff you can do yourself. I cut my own hair, mow my own lawn, do my own accounting, represent myself in court, but if a leak springs under my house, I hire a plumber. It's the same with most wildlife control. You don't understand wildlife, you're not inoculated against rabies, you do not have the scads of professional equipment or years of training necessary to properly handle wildlife issues. Hire a pro!

Do it yourself: Visit my How To Get Rid of Armadillos page for tips and advice.
Get professional help: Visit my Nationwide Pro Directory of wildlife removal experts.

Enough lecture. Here's the deal with armadillo trapping. Armadillos will rarely eat food on the surface of the ground. In my years of experience with and observation of the animal, I'd say that they never eat any food unless they dig it up out of dirt first. They dig for earthworms and grubs and other invertebrates. So first of all there's no bait that you can put into a trap in order to lure in armadillos. Any bait that you do use will more likely lure in a different non-target animal, such as a raccoon or opossum. So now that you know you can't bait for armadillos, you may wonder how to get them in a trap. The key is in the placement. Well, that's one of many key points, but placement is paramount. Armadillos are not bright animals, and they do not hesitate to crash through brush and debris. They don't have any reservations about a large steel cage box, and will happily meander right into it, unlike a cautious raccoon. Armadillos have lousy eyesight, and blunder along through life, bumping into and through this and that. So the secret is in knowing where an armadillo will walk, and putting the trap there. Of course, in order to increase the odds, I find the top several areas that the armadillo will walk, and set traps at all of them. So if you, Mr or Mrs. Homeowner has only one trap, which is likely true, then your odds of success will be less. Your odds will also be low, because you'll just plain do a crappy job of setting the trap. I've been to so many homes at which the homeowner tried to do it on his own, and I arrived to find the wrong trap, the wrong size, set in the wrong place, the wrong way, with a myriad of other errors. Basically, the trap must be large and strong enough, and it must be stable, and facing the right way, and the bottom of the trap flush on the ground with soft dirt lining, and the pan tension set right, and blah blah blah. Then there's the whole other matter of directing the armadillo into the trap with directional barriers, and so on and so forth. So try to trap it yourself, then break the law by doing the wrong thing with the animal once you have it: (another common call I get - I just trapped a ______. Now what do I do with it?). So seriously, either leave the animal alone, or hire a pro to get it done right. But please, please don't call me and ask for directions on how to do it yourself. I always answer my phone, because my business would fail otherwise, but I will, I guarantee you, be sweating my ass off in an attic at the moment you call.

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Trapping armadillos is an effective way of getting them off a property. We consider the different steps and processes involved in trapping armadillos in this article. This article also has tips for the successful trapping of the critters.

Armadillo traps
Armadillos can grow to be quite large. Thus, the use of an appropriately sized cage is important for trapping an armadillo. A trap with a height of 12 inches and a width of 10 inches should be suitable for the critters. The durability of the trap should also be noted, as the trap should be able to hold the trapped animal properly.

Placing traps for armadillos
Proper placement of the armadillo trap is another important determinant with the efficiency of the traps. The critters are burrowing animals, and they make a lot of burrows within a small area. The burrows include escape and nesting burrows. Although nesting burrows are visited more frequently than escape burrows, both types of burrows can be used for trap placement. Place the trap close to the burrows in the natural pathway of the critters. This is so that the critters can encounter the traps and enter them while going about their everyday activities.

Baits for armadillos
The food an animal consumes usually makes for great bait. Thus, for a lot of animals, their favorite foods are used as baits for trapping them. However, this is not suitable for armadillos. The critters feed on worms and other creatures freshly dug from the soil. Since armadillos dig the soil to find their food, they will not be interested in whatever food they find in a trap as bait. Thus, there are not exactly any effective baits for capturing these critters. Placing items to serve as bait in an armadillo trap may only attract other non-target animals and disrupt the efforts to catch the critters.

Relocating armadillos
After trapping the critters, the next step should be to relocate them. You can put the trap and the animal in a cage and drive a suitable distance away from your home before relocating them. The local authorities will provide specific information about relocating trapped armadillos.

Tips for trapping armadillos
Having covered the basics for trapping the critters, let’s cover some tips for effective trapping.

Build a walkway
A walkway can lead the critters to the trap and encourage effective trapping. Such a walkway can be built with wood and durable netting.

Set the trap flat
Setting the trap flat also helps with encouraging armadillos to enter. Place the trap on a flat surface and ensure that it does not wobble. Laying debris on the floor of the trap is another useful tip commonly applied for trapping the critters.

Local regulations
Before trapping the critters, you should find out what the local laws say about trapping and releasing them. Although there is a general rule that armadillos should be relocated at least 2 miles away, you should also check with the authorities for any regulations specific to your location. Trapping armadillos involves getting the right trap, placing and setting it properly, and applying measures to encourage the critters to enter the trap. All processes should be in line with local regulations.