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

Spirit of Racine Turned Ironman Racine 70.3

Today was the check in for IM Racine 70.3. This is the stomping grounds for my old favorite race; you guessed it, Spirit of Racine. Last year, they sold out to IM. My first reaction was one of uncertainty. This event has always been great, with the swim in Lake Michigan (not hidden in a bay somewhere, but out in the open). The run is along the lake on the road that overlooks the whole thing. It is just beautiful. You cannot help but notice, even when it is 99 degrees and 98 % humidity. Didn't seem they needed the help of the corporate giant event organizer. So from the moment of our arrival, my husband and I were scouting the whole thing out. The check in was easy enough. Festival Park Expo Center. Just like before, only that was less chaotic than it has been in years past. The whole building where the expo used to be is now simply check in. Really overkill, in my opinion. You could run laps inside that building; with check in going on. Outside was the expo under t...
2 comments
Read more

Ironman Perform

Ironman Perform Last week, Ironman sent athletes signed up for certain events a case of new Powerbar product called Ironman Perform.  They are intending to serve it at several events and wanted athletes to have the opportunity to train with it ahead of time.  I really appreciated their foresight with this.  After years of struggling with stomach issues, new product is a source of fear that I would rather not deal with. Because my stomach has been so finicky, my attitude has been less than great about this.  Passive-aggressive misspelling of the product to just complete irritation is pretty much where I was at.  But really, I do appreciate having the product ahead of time. So, what about the product?  Well, it brags to be their proprietary C2MAX.  C2MAX is a combo of maltodextrin, fructose and dextrose.  Biochemistry was never my thing, but a multi-path energy source is obviously a valuable thing.  Remember good old Krebs?  Your bo...
2 comments
Read more