ARMADILLO'S THE SCOURGE OF THE EARTH

[grayghost668]

those little shits are all over the place down here they dig up the yard and tease my dogs and some are pretty darn big,,,,it's time to thin them out here around the house,,,,,,,,,,,,,,how far north do they go,,,it might be time to consider a move to be rid of the little vermin

 

[Rob Painless]

Armadillos = possum on the half-shell. Bon-appetit!

 

[Maverick]

The biggest problem with the armadillo's is that some may be carrying leprosy not to mention chagas disease I would be slightly cautious.

 

[toexist]

those little shits are all over the place down here they dig up the yard and tease my dogs and some are pretty darn big,,,,it's time to thin them out here around the house,,,,,,,,,,,,,,how far north do they go,,,it might be time to consider a move to be rid of the little vermin

Those things always looked like mutant rodents to me. They almost look like a miniature variation of an alien creature you'd see in a sci fi movie. Do they attack dogs?

 

[toexist]

The biggest problem with the armadillo's is that some may be carrying leprosy not to mention chagas disease I would be slightly cautious.

I just looked up leprosy.

 

[Maverick]

View attachment 7103

I just looked up leprosy.

Many stories about leprosy with some of the best writings in the Bible

 

[WGregMiller]

It seems that there has been an uptick in leprosy cases on Florida since the little bastidges got there. They're here too.

Funny story: a friend owns a body shop. For escort comes in, a/c condenser broken, radiator broken, lower from grill missing. Oddly enough, oil filter broken off (the car is a rental).

Armadillo rna out in front of the car, driver panics, hits brakes, scoops armadillo into nose of car.

 

[Brent S]

I like the little armor plated dudes! Yeah, they may dig up the yard a little looking for grubs and such, but they are really cute buggars. Living in fla. I grew up with them being around. Now in N Ga. I have just recently started seeing
Them here. I guess global warming is real.....

 

[DrHenley]

We have been casually killing them at the deer camp in the Mississippi Delta ever since they moved in, but they have gotten so bad we declared out and out war on them a couple of years ago. We have armadillo patrols periodically and go through all the roads and food plots killing every single one we find.

Funny thing, they used to act so stupid, I have killed one with a stick. They used to run a few yards and stop if you startled them. Now they take off like a scalded dog if you get within 30 yards of them, and don't stop until they are out of sight or down a hole. They are actually getting hard to find and kill now that they are actively hunted.

 

[Brent S]

We have been casually killing them at the deer camp in the Mississippi Delta ever since they moved in, but they have gotten so bad we declared out and out war on them a couple of years ago. We have armadillo patrols periodically and go through all the roads and food plots killing every single one we find.

Funny thing, they used to act so stupid, I have killed one with a stick. They used to run a few yards and stop if you startled them. Now they take off like a scalded dog if you get within 30 yards of them, and don't stop until they are out of sight or down a hole. They are actually getting hard to find and kill now that they are actively hunted.

Have you tried eating any you've shot?

 

[DrHenley]

My next door neighbor smoked some once. It was pretty good, tasted like a cross between rabbit and pork. Clean white meat like pork loin, but with a light gaminess.

I'm afraid to clean the things though. I guess if I had some good tough nitrile gloves I might try, but I have a hard time finding nitrile gloves that fit AND are tough enough.

 

[Silent Earth]

I like most of the critters in the US you guys appear to like to wipe out like Prairie Dogs, Coyotes, Dillios, Possums etc I dont see them as vermin the way you chaps do

 

[DrHenley]

Armadillos are an invasive species Silent Earth. They aren't native to the United States. They came up from Mexico, and were introduced to Florida and spread from there...and are still spreading.

Pink is predicted future range

 

[Maverick]

I like most of the critters in the US you guys appear to like to wipe out like Prairie Dogs, Coyotes, Dillios, Possums etc I dont see them as vermin the way you chaps do

Prairie Dogs dig holes out in the horse pastures ensnaring a horse limb, same with cattle. when the kids and Wife rides out in the pasture they have to be cautious and refrain from galloping and running the horses when the flags are out, we have to flag the holes and fill in. If the rodent isn't controlled they will destroy a pasture fairly quickly on top of that, the dirt mounds around the hole out in the straw/alfalfa fields dull the cutters creating down time.

 

[Rob Painless]

Prairie Dogs should be labeled as an invasive species. They destroy whatever land they occupy. People who think they're cute & should be protected, should have a few of them in THEIR yards. Then they'd likely change their tunes.

 

[Maverick]

Many people don't know that the prairie dogs are actually a squirrel and like a squirrel are good eating so when we do shoot them we eat them, we get food and problem solved for a period of timed, they live in coteries (groups) so seeing just one means many with many holes

 

[Silent Earth]

Any species that becomes invasive, especially if its none nation should of course be controlled, inc humans :, Bears, wolves, coyotes, foxes, badgers, dillos, gopher, squirrel, pigeon, but not a carte blanche wipe out program unless they are a lethal threat to humans or other vital species IE Africanised honey bees are a blight, Burmese pythons another, Japanese Hornets, Wild Hawgs etc. But I believe in sensible control not wipe outs Especially as many critters also keep other critters in check and of course as others point out many are good eating. I read an article in a US nature magazine about in some place they eradicated some critter that was digging everything up looking for roots and grubs so they cleared the area of all the critters (damned if I can remember what it was, possibley real wild boar not wild pig) anyway once the critter were gone the locals realised the critters have been necessary to aerate the topsoil helping keeping it fertile and full of good bacteria. They ended up reintroducing the critters to save them from having to dig over and fertilise the soil. So if they are a danger or a plague yes they must be dealt with, but if they are an inconvenience stop and think first you may (A) wipe out a useful food source (B) cause damage to the natural biological cycle. In Scotland after they killed the wolves the deer population exploded and did dreadful damage to the environment.

 

[Silent Earth]

Many people don't know that the prairie dogs are actually a squirrel and like a squirrel are good eating so when we do shoot them we eat them, we get food and problem solved for a period of timed, they live in coteries (groups) so seeing just one means many with many holes

My late friend from KS used to eat prairie dogs during the great depression when he was a child in OK, he said if it were not for gophers and squirrels his family would have starved. They had to be careful though cos some the OK coteries were also infested with plague as well as rattle snakes (they ate the snakes as well).

I have an annoying bunch of Merkin Grey squirrels sharing the hedgerows and trees here with some huge fat wood pigeon which love to shit on our cars. I wanted to cull them but wife says no the trees and hedges are her emergency larder.

 

[Silent Earth]

Prairie Dogs should be labeled as an invasive species. They destroy whatever land they occupy. People who think they're cute & should be protected, should have a few of them in THEIR yards. Then they'd likely change their tunes.

During the depression and other bad times many Americans relied upon gophers and the associated rattlers as the only source of meat. I thought they improved the soil quality with their tunneling and crapping?

 

[Silent Earth]

Prairie Dogs dig holes out in the horse pastures ensnaring a horse limb, same with cattle. when the kids and Wife rides out in the pasture they have to be cautious and refrain from galloping and running the horses when the flags are out, we have to flag the holes and fill in. If the rodent isn't controlled they will destroy a pasture fairly quickly on top of that, the dirt mounds around the hole out in the straw/alfalfa fields dull the cutters creating down time.

Yeah they can be an issue for horses and ponies, we have similar issues with plagues of rabbits but again control not eradication is the key because they do often improve the quality of the soil with their tunneling and shitting, and of course they are free meat