Armadillo

[swampratt]

Really easy to catch at night...
When they are digging they are oblivious to things around them...I have walked up on them with lantern in hand
placed lantern down 5 feet from them and slowly walked over and snatched it up by it's tail with 2 hands and give them a big around the world swing and land the sucker on it's head like swinging a bat into the ground...8 times out of 10 you will break it's neck.

Then clean and eat.

If you catch one in the day time by hand ,, then kudos to you ..you fast running sucker!!
I have caught a few in daytime hours...
It was a sport we made up...run down the pond dam where they were diggin' , snatch one up by the tail and hold him upside down and see if you can hold for 8 seconds while they twist and shake to get loose..
Tough fun.
2 years ago we caught 2 by hand during the day and it was deer season...no deer for dinner that evening but we did eat some fresh kill just the same..

Have fun on your quest for the other white meat.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Really easy to catch at night...
When they are digging they are oblivious to things around them...I have walked up on them with lantern in hand
placed lantern down 5 feet from them and slowly walked over and snatched it up by it's tail with 2 hands and give them a big around the world swing and land the sucker on it's head like swinging a bat into the ground...8 times out of 10 you will break it's neck.

Then clean and eat.

If you catch one in the day time by hand ,, then kudos to you ..you fast running sucker!!
I have caught a few in daytime hours...
It was a sport we made up...run down the pond dam where they were diggin' , snatch one up by the tail and hold him upside down and see if you can hold for 8 seconds while they twist and shake to get loose..
Tough fun.
2 years ago we caught 2 by hand during the day and it was deer season...no deer for dinner that evening but we did eat some fresh kill just the same..

Have fun on your quest for the other white meat.

Speaking of dillers in ponds. I read they were excellent swimmers, so one time I caught one near a pond. I tossed it in, we never saw it again. I am not sure if it walked out on bottom or just like people some can swim and some can't.

 

[Blitzfike]

Went out at midnight to check the trap, it was sprung, I guess from the hail. Reset it and went back to sleep. Still set this morning. I will add the boards today.

 

[SoonerP226]

I read they were excellent swimmers...

That's odd--from what I've read, they can't swim very well at all, and rivers are a natural boundary for them. It wasn't 'til we started getting bridges across the rivers in TX and OK that they really started migrating north...

 

[SoonerP226]

...snatched it up by it's tail with 2 hands...

Before you do that again, you might want to google "armadillo leprosy" to see why it might not be the best idea...

 

[vvvvvvv]

We pretty much got rid of them at my house. Haven't had one in over a year. They give off a pretty distinct odor when they are nearby.

When we had a problem, there were times that we stayed up all night on the porch or in the bed of the truck just waiting with the .22.

All that was missing was the Unreal Tournament "headshot" clip.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

That's odd--from what I've read, they can't swim very well at all, and rivers are a natural boundary for them. It wasn't 'til we started getting bridges across the rivers in TX and OK that they really started migrating north...

Where have you read?
http://armadillo-online.org/facts.html

http://wild.enature.com/blog/how-can-armadillos-swim-while-wearing-their-heavy-armor

http://www.animalquestions.org/mammals/armadillos/can-armadillos-swim/

There are 3 links that say they are good or excellent swimmers but have to gulp air to float better.

 

[vvvvvvv]

Where have you read?
http://armadillo-online.org/facts.html

http://wild.enature.com/blog/how-can-armadillos-swim-while-wearing-their-heavy-armor

http://www.animalquestions.org/mammals/armadillos/can-armadillos-swim/

There are 3 links that say they are good or excellent swimmers but have to gulp air to float better.

They just don't have enough places to practice around here.

 

[swampratt]

Leprosy in armadillo's Even if it was ...i never seen it here..and something i read many years ago stated none in oklahoma
were ever known to have it,,
Lets define what it is on them critters...It stems from lack of blood flow to the extremities of the armadillo ..like the tips of the ears and tip of the tail.. lack of blood flow in these areas will make the critter look like the area is dried like psoriasis....

I never killed one that had any smell...they just smell like outside ...
I have sat and hunted in areas with them and watch them for an hour rooting around following their noses..
I watched a skunk from just a few feet away foraging for worms etc for 30 minutes+...
I let my self be known to the skunk and armadillo and neither really cared i was there....

That i feel is lack of human contact...nice to be able to hunt in a situation like that.

That is correct i did not kill either one of the critters i was observing...

 

[SoonerP226]

Where have you read?

I can't find it now, but it looks like it must've been in error. My mistake.

I did find this in the Wikipedia article, though, which might be more relevant to the sinking diller:

It is, however, capable of floating across rivers by inflating its intestines, or by sinking and running across riverbeds.
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-banded_armadillo