We remove wildlife that found its way into your home or business as well as seal and eliminate entry points around the home.
Armadillo Removal in Florida: Professional Trapping & Exclusion You Can Count On
In Florida, the Nine-Banded Armadillo is a common, yet profoundly disruptive, nuisance. These shell-encased mammals cause extensive, costly damage by relentlessly digging up lawns, gardens, and flowerbeds in their search for insects and grubs. A single armadillo can destroy a pristine landscape overnight. When armadillos have chosen your yard, you need a professional solution that removes the destructive animal and implements barriers to prevent future invasions. Across Florida, from Jacksonville to Tampa and Orlando to Fort Myers, homeowners struggle with recurring armadillo damage due to the state’s warm, sandy soil that makes digging effortless for these animals.
Turner Pest Control provides expert armadillo removal services across Florida, adhering strictly to state regulations to ensure all animal handling is ethical and professionally conducted.
We specialize in responsible trapping, safe relocation, and the installation of exclusion barriers to provide long-term pest control solutions. We help protect your landscaping, prevent property damage, and minimize disruption to local wildlife.
The Florida Armadillo Problem: Why These Persistent Diggers Damage Lawns & Foundations
Armadillos are primarily nocturnal, meaning they do their damage during the night. They possess a powerful instinct to burrow and are constantly searching for food, using their sensitive noses to locate insects, larvae, and earthworms just beneath the soil surface.
This foraging behavior leads to two primary issues:
- Yard Destruction: Armadillos create distinctive, shallow, cone-shaped holes, typically 1 to 3 inches deep, across lawns and golf courses. They also flip over sod and mulch, leaving behind a chaotic, damaged appearance.
- Structural Burrows: More severely, armadillos dig deep, complex burrows—typically 7 to 8 inches wide and extending up to 15 feet beneath porches, patios, concrete slabs, and foundations. These extensive tunnels can compromise the structural integrity of walkways, utilities, and even your home’s foundation, leading to settling and costly repairs.
If you are experiencing unexplained nightly damage to your yard, you may need a professional armadillo removal service before a burrow undermines your property.
How to Identify Armadillo Damage Around Your Florida Property
Because armadillos are often only active at night, homeowners frequently see the evidence before they see the animal itself:
- Small, Cone-Shaped Holes: The most telling sign is the presence of numerous shallow (1"-3" deep) foraging holes scattered across the lawn, indicating where the armadillo dug for food.
- Loose or Uprooted Plants: Armadillos will knock over potted plants and dig up flowerbeds and vegetable gardens, leaving loose soil and overturned mulch.
- Large Burrows: Look for large, distinct burrows (about the size of a softball opening) near dense vegetation, under decks, along foundation edges, or near thick shrubs. These are the main entrances to their underground dens.
- Tracks: Armadillos leave three-toed tracks on the ground, often paired with a long, thin drag mark from their tail.
Health & Property Risks Caused by Armadillos in Florida
While armadillos are not aggressive, their presence still carries risks primarily due to their burrowing habits and their potential to carry diseases:
- Disease Concern (Leprosy): Armadillos are one of the few mammals naturally susceptible to the bacteria that cause Hansen’s disease (Leprosy) in humans. While the risk of transmission is very low and requires prolonged contact, caution is necessary. It is critical never to handle a wild armadillo, dead or alive, and to call a professional armadillo removal specialist immediately.
- Structural Risks: The primary danger is property damage. Burrows that dig beneath walkways, driveways, utility lines, and foundations can cause cracking, settling, and collapse. Repairing structural damage caused by these tunnels far exceeds the cost of professional armadillo pest control.
- Trenching Hazards: Their deep digging and surface holes create tripping hazards for family members and pets, potentially resulting in injuries on your property.
Why Florida Homeowners Trust Turner for Armadillo Removal & Prevention
Effective armadillo control requires specialized knowledge of their territorial habits and powerful digging capabilities. Turner Pest Control provides expert, guaranteed armadillo removal service by combining specialized trapping and exclusion strategies:
- Thorough Inspection and Trapping: Our licensed wildlife control experts perform a detailed inspection to locate active burrows and primary foraging trails. We then employ live traps placed strategically near burrows and common pathways, ensuring quick and effective armadillo removal.
- Targeted Exclusion Barriers: Since armadillos cannot be kept out by simply sealing surface holes, our approach focuses on installing exclusion barriers. We use heavy-duty mesh fencing, often buried underground and angled outward, around vulnerable areas like porches, sheds, and foundations, to prevent new burrows.
If you are seeking an armadillo exterminator, understand that trapping and exclusion are the only compliant and effective long-term solutions. Our methods focus on permanent eviction and prevention.
Armadillo Prevention Tips for Florida Homeowners
Armadillo damage is often a sign of a plentiful food source in your yard. Reducing their food supply and installing physical barriers are key to armadillo pest control:
- Reduce Food Sources: Treat your lawn for grubs, insects, and other invertebrate pests, which constitute the armadillo’s main diet. A comprehensive lawn pest control program significantly reduces the attractiveness of your yard.
- Install Protective Fencing: Install a small, heavy-gauge wire mesh fence (hardware cloth), ensuring the barrier is at least one foot tall above ground and buried at least 12 to 18 inches deep, angled outwards at the bottom to prevent digging underneath.
- Remove Debris: Eliminate brush piles, dense shrubbery, and woodpiles where armadillos might seek shelter or create a temporary burrow near your home.
- Seal Entry Points: Block off access under decks, sheds, and low porches with concrete or solid fencing, as these dark spaces are prime locations for them to start digging.
For complete protection, pair your armadillo pest control with Turner’s lawn pest control services to eliminate grubs and other insects that attract armadillos to your yard.
Schedule Your Florida Armadillo Removal Service Today
Take control before armadillo damage escalates and avoid the potential risk of structural damage from underground burrows. Armadillos are persistent, and their damage accumulates quickly. Trust the professional, comprehensive armadillo removal and exclusion service provided by Turner Pest Control.
To schedule your free inspection and ensure effective armadillo pest control, contact Turner Pest Control today by calling 800-225-5305 or filling out our convenient online form.
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