54 acre lake in Tennessee with a well built, well maintained 20 year old dam. State inspects it every July due to it being a category 1 dam. We are seeing more armadillo activity in our area and we see signs of their tunneling on the down side of the dam. Obviously they can do some quick damage. We own a 10 acre lot in the development and it amazes me what they can do in just one night. Any ideas on how to control their activity in regards to dam integrity? Chemicals, smoke?

The first step is to find out what are the legal means of controlling them in your state.

Here is a link to some information for Missouri that I found useful.

https://mdc.mo.gov/wildlife/nuisance-problem-species/nuisance-native-species/armadillo-control

I have an armadillo infestation on my land. The only thing I have found useful is the injection of a small amount of lead at high velocity.

They will be very difficult to trap (if even legal), but they sometimes do have obvious travel trails on grass. They are also very difficult to poison, since their preferred diet is live insects and insect grubs.

I have tried castor oil around my new tree plantings. Supposedly it makes the bugs and grubs taste nasty and they will not root around that location. It would cost way too much to spray your entire dam several times per year.

Sorry to not be of more help - there is no easy solution. I gave my nephews a bounty of $5/armadillo. So far I am out $20.

If your dam is in grass, I might try burning it during the proper season. That should at least eliminate the insects for part of the year and perhaps the armadillos will then hunt other ground.

Good luck on your battle.

I know a guy who tried every way to capture the armadillos that were tearing up his yard. He was horribly unsuccessful until he found a website that sold live "Armadillo Traps". These traps are made of wood and the company will season the trap with a live armadillo for a day or two IIRC and then send it to you. It's the scent of a strange armadillo that attracts them. So long as you continue to catch them...the trap stays seasoned. My friend would wrap the trap in a heavy plastic bag through the off-season and it would work again the following.

I'll have to ask him what company he bought it from as I don't know.

what would cattle do if they were on the area, I know they discourage muskrats by trampling their burrows pretty regularly but then on the inside the dam where muskrats are the cattle will do almost as much damage as the rats, but on the back side of the dam, where your problem is, if I understand correctly, they might help. jat

Noel: This the trap you are talking about? https://thearmadillotrap.com/buy.html

That certainly sounds like it. I have contacted my friend to find out for sure.

EDIT: He just got back with me...That's the one! Prices have gone up $60 in the last couple years.

With the price of treated wood going through the roof, plus price increases in other things, I am not surprised.

Not to mention, we are seeing more and more of the armadillos. Trap supply and demand kinda thing. I saw my first live one on the property this year...usually it's just dead ones on the road.

As long as you cover the hut entrance, any cheap feed store wire live-trap should work. Armadillo's won't come to bait, so trapping them when they come out at night is the best trap option. A cheap plywood open ended box built big enough to cover the hole, and then fitted to the opening of the trap will get them.

Or, if legal, lead works the best.

Would a conibear trap over the burrow catch them and kill them, or just scare the beejeebies out of em when it snapped on the shell?

That's a good question and I don't have a concrete answer. BUT, I'd bet that a bigger one (220 or 330) might work, but be careful using the 330 out of the water - anything that sticks it's head in it will be dead. Check your state laws, some states don't allow setting the 330's out of water.

I'm thinking that a 220 might be the right size to snap right at the edge of the shell, behind their head. Just taking a WAG here, but I'd spread the trigger wires so they are about 2" apart and have the trigger in the middle of the trap. Stake the trap so it won't tip over when they try to go through it. You will find out if it works or not the first night if it is an active den.

I've used 220's staked so they don't tip over at groundhog dens and that has worked great.

I never have, or ever will, set a conibear flat over a hut entrance. It's a non-selective killer. That, and it's just too easy to channel the armadillo into a live trap, then do what you want with them. I've caught armadillos, opossums, skunks, feral cats, and one dumb chicken using that technique.

I'll bet the skunk was interesting to get out of the trap.........

Yeah, you have to watch where you set the Conibear on dry land, there is no turning back once it's snapped. The only good thing about the 220's is that even a skunk will be dead before it can spray.

It was a curiosity question more than anything. My area is on the far northern fringe of armadillo territory.
We see a dead one on the road every now and then. I've never seen a live one, or any sign of burrowing, on my property.

Skunks are problematic.

Talked to my buddy last night and he said the "thearmadillotrap.com" guy was great to do business with and said they even sell bags of armadillo scat so that you can bait/scent your own DIY traps.

One piece of advise he mentioned was to leave the recently trapped armadillo in the trap for a day or two before removing it so that it reinforces the trap's smell...BUT don't let it die. Apparently, that scent ruins the works. Place it in the shade and give it some water.