Armadillo Removal in Lawrenceville, GA
Woke up to a lawn full of small cone-shaped holes, or a strip of turf that looks like hogs rooted it? If your Lawrenceville yard runs up to a creek buffer or wooded edge, an armadillo is likely coming out of it at night. Call us and tell us about the job — we will confirm the local crew for your county before any work starts.
Armadillos digging up your Lawrenceville yard
Armadillos are showing up more often across Georgia each year, and in Lawrenceville they follow the town's green edges. A creek buffer or wooded strip gives an armadillo cover during the day, and the watered lawn right next to it gives it food at night. It digs for grubs, worms and insects just under the surface, and the result is a yard full of shallow, cone-shaped holes, turned-over mulch and uprooted plants.
Most people try a store product first: mothballs, castor-oil granules, predator urine, a sonic stake. None of them work. Armadillos dig on instinct, and nothing has been shown to keep them away. There's also nothing you can bait them with. What works is a trap set exactly where the animal already walks, then closing up any burrow it's been using.
Holes in the lawn vs. a burrow
The feeding holes are ugly but shallow, and the grass grows back. The bigger concern is a burrow. Armadillos dig dens, and in a backyard they like to put them under a deck, a shed, an AC pad or a patio slab. Over time the tunnel can wash out the soil under that structure. If you see a burrow opening near the house, that's the part to deal with first.
Why yards beside the woods get dug
On a Lawrenceville lot that backs onto a creek or a wooded strip, the armadillo's day bed is only a few yards from the lawn. Regular watering keeps the soil soft and the grubs and worms close to the surface, which is exactly what it wants. Wet weather makes it worse. Holes often appear first along the back of the yard, near the tree line, and spread toward the house.
What doesn't work
Repellents don't work. Mothballs don't work and should never be put around a house for any animal problem. Ultrasonic devices don't work. Treating the lawn for grubs isn't recommended either: with less food to find, the armadillo digs more, not less, to get what's left. Every week spent trying these is another week of new holes.
Trapping is about placement
Because an armadillo can't be lured with bait, the trap has to be put where it already goes. The pro reads the yard: the line of holes, the path from the wooded edge, the burrow entrance. Pre-set wooden box traps go right on that path, often with boards or fencing to steer the animal in. Placement is what makes it work. There are no special legal restrictions on trapping armadillos in Georgia.
Closing the burrow
Once the armadillo is caught, its burrow is still there, and another one from the buffer may move into it. The pro closes the opening and puts buried wire or barrier along the base of the deck, shed or slab so nothing can dig back under. That's the step that keeps the next armadillo from using the same den.
When it's under a structure
If the burrow already goes under a deck, AC pad or the house, act soon. The pro traps the armadillo first, checks that no young are left in the den, and then closes the cavity and installs the barrier. Closing the hole with the animal still inside would just push it to dig out somewhere else.
Common armadillo questions in Lawrenceville
Something is digging cone-shaped holes in my lawn in Lawrenceville — what is it?+
Do armadillo repellents, mothballs or ultrasonic stakes work?+
There's a burrow under my deck or shed — is that an armadillo?+
How do you actually get rid of an armadillo?+
Will an armadillo damage my foundation?+
How much does armadillo removal cost in Lawrenceville?+
Other Lawrenceville problems that come with armadillos
Our wildlife crew handles these closely related problems — the ones that most often turn up with a armadillo issue.
Got more than armadillos in Lawrenceville?
The wooded edge an armadillo uses is home to other animals too. See everything we handle locally on the Lawrenceville wildlife removal hub, or jump to Georgia wildlife removal.
Want the background before you call? Read our statewide guide: Armadillos tearing up your Georgia lawn.
One call to your Lawrenceville armadillo crew
An armadillo will keep digging the same yard every night until it's removed, and a burrow under a deck or slab gets bigger over time. Call us and tell us about the job — we will confirm the local crew for your county before any work starts.
- Local to Gwinnett County. Georgia DNR-compliant handling — call to ask about licensing and insurance.
- Trapping, not repellents. Traps set on the armadillo's own path, then the burrow closed off. Sprays and granules don't work.
- Done right. Removal, exclusion and cleanup.