Orlando Florida Armadillo Trapping

This is a photo that I took of armadillos in traps. I am in the left, and my friend Tim is on the right. We caught both of these armadillos at the same site - at the same burrow. This is very rare, and in fact this was a breeding pair. Usually it's only one armadillo per burrow, except in a case like this, or in a case of a mother and her four (and she always has exactly four twins) young. Usually, trapping just one armadillo takes care of the problem. The animals are typically solitary.

How do you trap armadillos? It's a subtle thing, and it's taken me a lot of practice and failures. I've gone to many homes in which the homeowner has purchased their own trap (in my state they can't legally trap and relocate armadillos as they intend to do) but they do a lousy job of setting the traps. Oh sure, it may be in the general vicinity of the correct area, and set as instructed, but there's a whole lot of subtle things that are very important. It takes an experienced trapper to know exactly how the armadillo moves, how it will relate to the cage, and why it will go in. I know exactly which paths the animal will use to travel, and I set several traps, perfectly, flush with soft dirt bottom, in just the right areas, in order to ensure success. It's important to do it right, because there's no effective bait to use to catch armadillos. Because armadillos dig up all of their food, they won't eat any old crap on the surface. If you use bait, you'll probably catch a non-target animal, such as an opossum or raccoon.