Skip to main content

Controlling Armadillos

Brodhead beat East Troy last night by at least 40/7. Don't know the final because we left with 3 minutes on the clock and we saw Brodhead intercept one as we drove away. On the way home, we got on the topic of running things over with the car. We started to speculate about what hitting an armadillo would be like. Do they just crumple up and die, or is it like punting a football? We have been northerners all our lives, and this simply isn't an issue we encounter. They look kind of cute in an armored-car sort of way, and seem harmless enough at the zoo.

This discussion lead in to what do they eat. I thought bugs, but wasn't sure. When we got home, we did a little search on the beast. What disgusting rats with shells they turned out to be! They are unbelievably diseased! 53% have leprosy. Hell, if you saw one without a leg you wouldn't be thinking that was the cause. Yuck! Salmonella, tape worms, rabies. The list goes on and on. Armadillos are a common wildlife pest species in the south. The biggest problem that they cause is that they dig up people's yards, besides being nasty and stank. Here are a few of their favorite hobbies:
  • Making large burrows under the house
  • Tearing up & destroying landscaping
  • Making holes all over the yard
  • Tunneling leading to cracks in foundation
  • Destroying pipes under home
For the above reasons, it's often a good idea to have nuisance armadillos trapped and removed from your property. This is the only effective control means. I guess that leaves the Toyota out of it. They pretty much eat anything, but mostly insects.

There are buisnesses all over that remove them. The Trapper Guy and Orlando Armadillo Control are just a couple. I can't believe what a gross job this would be. Imagine even touching a cage that had an animal with leprosy in it. I would be inclined to just shoot the damn thing myself, but imagine baby armadillos under your porch rotting for three years...and having to remove the carcass yourself. Mike was thinking high-powered riffle, to make sure you penetrate the hide. Awsome, blown tapeworms and leprosy-infected tissue all over the yard. Yuck, yuck, yuck. I'm staying in Wisconsin. Skunks, coons and possums are piggy enough.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Training for Power

It's been a long year. This year was HARD! Lots of injuries kept me from training to my full potential. Nearly 6 months without speed work; and what a jinx that is on performance! Some of you know I had a major back surgery in the spring of 07. My L4-S1 are now for ever fused with titanium rods. Sadly, they are not carbon fiber, as any triathlete would prefer. This has resulted in the loss of mobility/flexibility in the lower back, making my hamstrings prone to tightness and all the fun that goes with that weak link. I've tried to address this on my own. I purchased a set of Powercranks in 08 and used them faithfully. If you don't know what that is, you should. They force you to pedal each leg independent and pull the crank up/around with your hamstrings. They are beastly! They improved my run times tremendously and made my pedal stroke very smooth on the bike. In 09, I went to Mercy Sports Rehab. Brent Wesolek did an assessment of my riding and said he h
2 comments
Read more

Down Time

Since missing IM WI 70.3 due to the weather, we have been taking it easy around here. A couple of long bike rides just to enjoy the summer weather here in Wisconsin. We have been ignoring the endless pool, unfortunately. It is just not something that either of us seem to enjoy that much. I need to rediscover the motivational groove, but work hours have been crazy. I am currently working four different places, which helped to pay off the pool quickly. Working so many hours has burned out the drive I had left. There hasn't been much play time. I know I am not the only one who has been working too many hours. Americans are taking less and less vacation. Maybe it is financial, maybe too many demands from work to take time away, who knows. Being a workaholic doesn't pay. We become less productive, as we continue sitting and doing the same work for hours. The human mind can only stay on task just so long, and then the quality and quantity of what we produce decreases. We make more
Post a Comment
Read more

Ironman Louisville 2010

This past Sunday was the morning of my fourth Ironman race. The day started out at 4:30 with Mike's cell phone going off somewhere in the room. He didn't even seem to notice, and I couldn't find the damn thing in the dark. My ITouch was set to go off next to me, but it ended up providing the light needed to search for the ringing phone. Unfortunately, by the complaints next door, this started the neighbor's day early too. You don't want to camp next to the Brady's. After an entire race season of not tolerating speed work but doing a ton of endurance; the pressure was off. There were no real moments of nerves at all. Just going through the moves and wishing things could just get started. There were plenty of moments wondering what was wrong with me that I felt so chill about it all. Sometimes you just find that happy zone where you know exactly where you are at physically and go with it. It sure is a good place to be! I try to keep my race routine
Post a Comment
Read more