Orlando Armadillo Prevention

This is a photo that I took of an armadillo running along at night time. They can actually move at a fairly decent clip. This one was trotting along, but when they really want to move quickly, they burst away in a series of quick and powerful hops. They can really jump! In fact, when armadillos are startled, they'll often jump straight up into the air. Not a good defense mechanism if they're startled by an automobile passing overhead. Still, they can run when they have to. However, this isn't often necessary, because they have few real predators aside from Chevrolets and Hondas. This is one of my better "armadillo in nature" photos, because it's hard to get a shot of them in profile - they're almost always moving away from me, meaning that I've got a lot more shots of armadillo rear-ends than of armadillo faces.

I titled this page armadillo prevention, but there aren't really a whole lot of good prevention techniques. No effective repellent or deterrent for armadillos exists. The only way to prevent them from using your lawn is to construct physical barriers to keep them out. Even a regular fence won't do the trick, because they just dig right under it. If you want to keep armadillos out of your fenced-in yard, you'll have to install a heavy-duty steel screen down into the earth, at least 18 inches down, with the bottom curved outward. That's too much work. Or you could pave your entire yard, but some consider this armadillo prevention technique an impediment to the growth of lovely grass and flowers. Thus, the only real way to handle an armadillo problem is to trap and remove the animal should it cause a persistent problem for you. If you need my services, give me a call at 407.538.1694