Armadillo Removal in Perry, GA

Armadillos digging up your Perry yard

Perry sits in Georgia's Coastal Plain, south of the fall line, where the soil is lighter and sandier than the red clay farther north. Armadillos love it. Pastures, orchard floors and watered lawns are full of grubs, worms and beetles close to the surface, and the loose ground is easy to dig. Armadillos have been spreading across Georgia for years and are more common in Middle Georgia every year. Homeowners describe the damage as looking like hogs rooted through the yard: small cone-shaped holes, mulch and pine straw thrown onto the walk, and plants dug out of the beds overnight.

Armadillos aren't eating your plants; they're digging for the insects under them. They have poor eyesight and dig by smell, which is why the usual home remedies don't work. Mothballs, castor-oil granules and spinning or ultrasonic stakes don't change anything, and treating for grubs can actually make the digging worse. What works is a trap placed where the armadillo walks.

Two kinds of damage

The first is surface damage: feeding holes a few inches across in the lawn and beds, new ones every night. It's ugly but fixable. The second is a burrow. Armadillos dig dens under porches, decks, sheds, air-conditioner pads, steps and slab edges, and as a tunnel grows it can wash out the soil supporting what's above it. The burrow is the reason to deal with an armadillo quickly.

Why Perry yards attract them

Sandy soil is easy to dig, especially after rain or irrigation, when worms and grubs come up close to the surface. Pastures and orchards around Perry hold plenty of food and cover, and the brush along creeks and field edges gives armadillos a place to den during the day. A yard bordering that kind of ground is the next easy meal.

What doesn't work

Mothballs don't work and should never be put around a house or yard for any animal problem. Castor-oil products, predator urine, sprays and ultrasonic stakes haven't been shown to keep armadillos away. Treating the lawn for grubs is also not recommended: with fewer grubs to find, the armadillo digs more holes looking for what's left. And there's no bait that draws them into a trap.

What works: traps on the trail

Because nothing baits an armadillo, the trap has to go where it already walks. A pro reads the yard — fresh holes, tracks, the burrow entrance, and the fences, walls and edges it follows — and sets box traps right on that path, often using boards or fencing to guide it in. Pre-set wooden box traps are the most effective method. Georgia has no special legal restrictions on trapping armadillos, but placing the trap correctly is what makes it work.

Closing the burrow

After the armadillo is removed, the pro makes sure the burrow is empty, then fills it and blocks the opening — usually with wire mesh buried at the edge of the porch, deck or shed so another armadillo can't dig back in. Without that step, an empty burrow is an open invitation to the next one.

Burrows near the house

A burrow under a porch, step, or AC pad, or along a slab, is the main concern. As the tunnel grows, soil can wash out from under the structure. If you see a hole about the width of a football next to the house, keep an eye on it and call. The pro will trap the resident, check for others, and close it off for good.