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How do you know if you have an armadillo under your shed or porch?



Armadillos are pests native to North America. They are great diggers just like groundhogs, and they prefer to make their homes underground. They also dig to find food, because they eat insects, larvae and bugs; using their excellent sense of smell, they will detect potential food and start digging to get to it. Armadillos digging is dangerous because it can demolish the foundation of your home, shed, garage, or other building on your property, because they dig deep. An additional danger is the fact that an armadillo’s den can easily get inhabited by another wild animal that can be more dangerous for your family, such as a venomous snake.

With all that said, it is evident that you don’t want armadillo near your home. How can you be sure that you have one under your porch or shed? There are several signs that will point that out very clearly. First of all, and primarily, there are lots of signs of digging, lots of piles of loose dirt all over your yard. Armadillos create very specific piles of dirt and very specific holes that are entrances to their dens. These holes are about 4-5 inches wide. From this entrance starts a hallway that stretches for a few feet further on, in width and length.

When you have verified that there are these signs of an armadillo’s presence, you can choose one of several methods to remove it from your property. If you don’t want to kill the armadillo, or risk harm by trapping it, you can try to scare it away with repellents. Armadillos don’t see well but have a great sense of smell, which can be used to scare them away. The scent of larger animals, such as coyote urine, or simply ammonia will be enough to keep them away. Also, strong smells such as cayenne pepper or garlic can be used; both of these spices are so intensive that armadillos just can’t stand it, just like moth balls.

You can also place mesh wire around your property because they don’t find it too appealing to dig under it.

Go back to the How to Get Rid of Armadillos page or email us if you have any other questions about How do you know if you have an armadillo under your shed or porch?