Armadillos

[Izzy]

Im certainly not advocating the protection of armadillos but if the thread starter had a question as to "If" he shoulda killed the critter, he probably didn't want to in the 1st place therefore, he's probably in a better place now that he didn't. Id surely kill everyone that gave me a chance if armadillos were damaging something of value to me or my community at large.
      I don't kill raptors and am keenly aware that they are a protected race but I do think the comparison is adequate. Im under the impression that their protection is purely sentimental at this stage in time.

[randy grider]

Some things it is acceptable to kill and leave lay, fies, rats, armadillos, groundhogs, raccoons, crows, carp, these species left unchecked become a huge problem. Silver carp in KY are terrible, filling our waterways with a prolific breeder that can live in any condition and are destroying game fish species. If you ever had an acre of sweetcorn ravaged by raccoons, or a barn that the groundhogs are seriously under mining, you would want to kill everyone in sight.

[Eric Krewson]

Oh, armadillos...., I hate them. Were I hunt they moved in about 10 years ago, if I didn't eradicate as many as I can they would be the dominant species.

On one of my food plots it looks like hogs have been in it but the fist sized holes say armadillo. Deer won't come around a rooting armadillo so if you have one or more rooting around your stand your deer hunt is done.

I satisfy my "blood lust" at least dozen times a year by targeting these pests exclusively with my 22. I got 24 last year on 350 acres and haven't see one while on a stand this year. I have run across a few while walking out after dark that are on my hit list for after deer season.

People who have had little or no contact with these pests don't know how an invasive species like an armadillo can disrupt the balance of your land. It is like having a burgeoning population of Norway rats in your kitchen.

[mj seratt]

A friend of mine, while just a small boy, lived in Texas with his Grandfather.  He had seen those armadillo baskets, so he decided to make one for his Grandmother.  He shot one with his 22, and hung it in the barn.  A week or so later, his Grandfather had occasion to visit the barn, and made a horrible discovery.  My buddy had to take the reeking carcass out and dispose of it, which he says was punishment plenty.

Murray

[Stone Knife]

They can transmit leprosy to humans, that would be reason enough to keep them away from my family.

[Piratkey]

Well,I dont have this kind of animals in my country so I find it nice and funny    

[sweeney3]

This is one of those subjects that can be eternally debated with no solid resolution.  I see both (multiple) angles and am myself ambivalent on the idea.  I vacillate on whether to shoot or not shoot something I will not eat.  I try to weigh the situation and decide if the harm I cause will be worth the benefit to the native and desired system.  In the end, I suppose it comes down to how well you can sleep with the decision you make.

For what it's worth, I find myself shooting coyotes and such less and less, if ever, and shooting armadillos somewhat more often.  I've lately left possums alone.  Crows are in play as I really like their feathers for fletching and have found some recipes I want to try.  Do what seems conscionable to you.

[KenH]

From one Floridian to another -- take 'em out.  We've got more than enough invasive stuff down here killing off or replacing local wildlife as it is.

The CDC says the risk of contracting Leprosy is minimal.  If you're worried, pull your arrow wearing rubber gloves.

[centaur]

Through a concerted effort, all armadillos in Wyoming have been eliminated.

[RC]

I`ve seen hawks kill snakes more than anything else. I see owls on squirrels alot.
  Armidillas are no good. But coons  do more to your turkey eggs than anything I believe as well as Turtle eggs. Since the fur trade is poor the coons around here have thrived. I have trail cam pics full of coons. Since the season has come in I will kill everyone I see. I have a friend that will take everyone I kill and I hope its a lot. They come up on my porch,tear up the barn and have learned to take the lid off the garbage can that holds my fish feed. they gotta go.

[LBR]

They cause a lot of people problems, especially those of us that have pasture animals.

Killing only what you eat is a noble idea, but nobody sticks to it 100%.  You can eat bugs, mice, worms, etc. and I'd bet each and every one of us has and will kill these without a second thought...but eat them?  Do you like your roach roasted or grilled?  Mouse soup anyone?  How about a tomato worm (caterpillar) smoothie?

As someone already stated, there are reasons for killing other than eating, and they are just as justifiable.  If I find a poisonous snake in my carport, I'll kill it.  If I catch a fox or coyote snooping around my chicken coop, I'll kill it.  When the crows start raiding my pecan trees, I'll kill them.  No plans to eat any of them, and it has nothing to do with "blood lust".  I get that out of my system bowfishing--lol.

[JamesKerr]

I kill armadillos on sight period! They destroy our food plots by rumaging through them and when there are a lot of them together it looks like you have hogs on your land. Plus they love to dig under foundations of houses to keep warm and bump around under our camp house while we try to sleep.

[shag08]

Thankfully, we don't have them here...YET. When and if we do they will be dispatched like all other pests...especially non-native pests. I don't eat everything I kill and I'm ok with that. Some critters aren't fit to eat, or even touch in the case of the armadillo.

In the words of William Munny, "I've killed everything that walked or crawled, at one time or another. I'm here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you done to Ned."

[SELFBOW19953]

Not quite sure why armadillos are being called invasive species, just maybe not in all areas.  I believe they are native to the Americas.  I have intentionally killed 2 armadillos in my 63 years, I have picked up dozens by just standing still and letting them come to me-kind of like "counting coup"-I pick them up, then turn them loose, but, I have no problem with people shooting them.  

I kill every opossum around my property.  Opossum droppings (in hay, water, pasture) cause EPM, a neurologic disease, in horses that is always fatal.  Raccoons that are active at odd hours of the day are also subject to eradication-rabies (we have horses, dogs, cats).

[McDave]

When I was a little boy in Texas in the early '50's, I had an uncle who kept trying to crate up an armadillo and send it to other relatives in Iowa. Evidently they didn't have any armadillos in Iowa at that time.  I'm not sure they wanted any, either, but he wanted to send them one.  They probably didn't have any coral snakes either, and fortunately it didn't occur to him to send them one of them.  Anyway, all they ever got was an empty crate with a hole in the side. He tried several times, reinforcing the crate in various ways, but the result was always the same.

[KenH]

Armadillo are NOT native to North America.  They originated in Central America, but over the past 100+ years their range in North America has been expanding northward due to a lack of sufficient predators.  They are now found as far north as Nebraska and southern Indiana.

[Gene Wensel]

My brother took a dead armadillo back to Montana and laid it along the road there as a road kill. It made the papers! I have one made into a basket that sits on our dining room table. It always attracts attention and conversation. As far as eating eggs, I doubt it. They don't have any teeth. Strictly worms, grubs, larvae, etc. Matter of fact, a boiled out armadillo skull is really cool looking with scalloping on the skull bones.

[carbonflyr]

[hawkeye n pa]

I killed one in S.C. last year at the land owners request.  But it got even, laid there dead as a doorknob until I got close.  Then it did a back flip spraying me with blood and then it was dead " again".

[Bill Kissner]

Originally posted by shag08:
Thankfully, we don't have them here...YET. When and if we do they will be dispatched like all other pests

I am surprised you don't have any in TN. I have seen road killed dillas in Missouri and southern Illinois.

I have a friend in Louisana that eats them all the time....calls them possum on the half shell!