burrowing owl or armadillo holes? (real estate, house, landscaping)

[St.louienative]

I have a hole in my yard near my house by the landscaping, someone told us it is probably a burrowing owl or armadillo...I have not seen the animal yet...any hints on how to tell if it is an owl or armadillo...I know the armadillos can be destructive to the yard.

[elston]

I had an armadillo borrow in my yard near a little wall......the tell tale sign of armadillos is a little sort of triangle hole they make in soft earth when they come out at night to hunt for grubs. It is distinctive.
The borrow isn't distinctive.

If you have an armadillo burrow...you want to discourage them....NOT ALL but some Florida armadillo carry the virus that causes leprosy! Yes it is true. Since I knew I had an active burrow....when I buried it they re-opened it.....

I read that about 80% of their brain is devoted to Olfactory functions.....scents. They hate certain smells....pine, and of course ammonia. I poured ammonia down the burrow and hung an ammonia scented cloth near the entrance...and I poured a cat litter made of processed pine...(.fragrant)..into the burrow..and I spread pine mulch around the area of the burrow. They left and have been gone now for about 9 mos.

I also read that used cat litter poured into the burrow is a deterrent....but I don't have a cat.

Look for the distinctive holes they make when looking for grubs....it is the best way of knowing.

Good Luck.

[St.louienative]

now I have found another hole, one in the back right by the lanai wall, the other in a more open area...I have 3 Golden Retrievers and when they are on the lanai they go straight back to the area where the hole is, they cant get to it but they are seeing it or smelling it...I will have to do more research on finding out what it is! Thanks for you help, if it is an armadillo I will know how to get it out, hopefully. my husband has a nighttime video cam he uses for hunting may set that up maybe we will be able to see it on the cam.

[Compression]

I don't even recall seeing an Armadillo in Florida. Remember them well from back in Michigan, but apparently they are around here as well.

Since the hole is "near a wall", I'd tend to think it is other than an owl. I could be wrong, but I thought the owls prefer open ground around them. The owls will also take over a hole that has been started by something else. Have seen on more than one occasion those holes left in a yard by those wooden real estate signs occupied by owls, real fast.

Maybe the first hole attracted some owls, that decided to set up housekeeping in the middle of the yard(jk) Also, don't owls pile up their dirt in a mound to give them some elevation near their entrance? They dig pretty deep, the grub diggers maybe not so much. Might be a way of identifying too.

CN.......

[Izmack]

Leprosy?! Wow - I definitely did not know THAT.

[elston]

Originally Posted by Izmack

Leprosy?! Wow - I definitely did not know THAT.

That sorts freaked me out...but the more I read.....the more verified it became. There are lots of warnings about buy any souvenir items made of armadillo and if you are working in the yard around armadillo burrows...to be very aware of gloves and handwashing etc.

There are lots of armadillo in Florida.....and its a fairly high percentage that carry the virus for leprosy.

Armadillo are the only animal other than humans that carry and can transmit leprosy. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/28/armadillos-
leprosy_n_854946.html

But even if you have cozied up to an armadillo, there's no need to panic: according to Scientific American, about 95 percent of us are naturally immune to leprosy. And, reports NPR, the risk of contracting leprosy from brief contact -- even moving armadillo roadkill -- is still quite low. "Leprosy is not a very robust pathogen."

[Izmack]

Originally Posted by elston

That sorts freaked me out...but the more I read.....the more verified it became. There are lots of warnings about buy any souvenir items made of armadillo and if you are working in the yard around armadillo burrows...to be very aware of gloves and handwashing etc.

There are lots of armadillo in Florida.....and its a fairly high percentage that carry the virus for leprosy.

I think your one post beats everything else this board has ever taught me about SWFL - COMBINED. Just googling, I found so much info on this!

[fitce]

I've been seeing more and more armadillo around, especially the extreme NW Cape. Seeing a lot of dead armadillo along the roads as well.

As previously mentioned the burrowing owls like an "open" area will most likely not make a burrow next to a structure and do like to have a perch be it the fill from the hole or well pipes (been seeing quite a few burrowing owls around the well head on vacant properties).

[DennisDaMenace]

Originally Posted by elston

I had an armadillo borrow in my yard near a little wall......the tell tale sign of armadillos is a little sort of triangle hole they make in soft earth when they come out at night to hunt for grubs. It is distinctive.
The borrow isn't distinctive.

If you have an armadillo burrow...you want to discourage them....NOT ALL but some Florida armadillo carry the virus that causes leprosy! Yes it is true. Since I knew I had an active burrow....when I buried it they re-opened it.....

I read that about 80% of their brain is devoted to Olfactory functions.....scents. They hate certain smells....pine, and of course ammonia. I poured ammonia down the burrow and hung an ammonia scented cloth near the entrance...and I poured a cat litter made of processed pine...(.fragrant)..into the burrow..and I spread pine mulch around the area of the burrow. They left and have been gone now for about 9 mos.

I also read that used cat litter poured into the burrow is a deterrent....but I don't have a cat.

Look for the distinctive holes they make when looking for grubs....it is the best way of knowing.

Good Luck.

They are allergic to lead too.

[Beak Boater]

Have seen a lot of them dead on the side of the road. I asked a neighbor that's a life long resident in Fl about where the armadillos live. I told him I had never seem one alive, just the road kill. He said hes seem them early in the morning scurrying into the drain pipes on the side of the streets.