Critters in the Yard (Houston, Austin: cul-de-sac, neighborhood, living)

[capcat]

Originally Posted by txgolfer130

moles will also be searching for grubs.

Do we have those here? I haven't seen one since moving to Austin. They wreak havoc on a yard quickly, worse than anything mentioned so far.

[UKjay]

Sigh, we are up to 6 armadillos trapped. txgolfer130, hope that leaves 4 more

We are on the golf course (public) so I don't know if they are trapping, but I'm going to call this morning.

We thought the chicken wire along the bottom of the metal fence was to keep a little dog in, hah, clearly the previous owners were keeping (or trying) to keep animals out.

The moth balls go out today! I don't mind them passing through, but burrowing under the house is not OK.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by capcat

Do we have those here? I haven't seen one since moving to Austin. They wreak havoc on a yard quickly, worse than anything mentioned so far.

Yes we do have them here. They have given me lots of trouble in the past. Does anyone have tips on how to best control them? I suppose pesticides are the only solution?

[Trainwreck20]

Moles? I have never seen them here, but I suppose they could be. My MIL (in Indiana) uses the flat side of a shovel applied forcefully and violently to the leading edge of the burrow...works quite well.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by txgolfer130
moles will also be searching for grubs.

I thought capcat was refering to grubs, I see now he could have been talking about moles.

In regard to Moles I found some small burrows beneath my deck last year, not sure what made them, they were only about 1" in diameter, and I have not seen signs of anything coming back after I disturbed the soil in that area.

[HappyinAustin]

Hi,

Do your armadillo stories sound exotic to your friends in London? :-)

I can't vouch for it, but my friend in Dallas said he's trying it:

Get Rid of Armadillos in your Yard or Landscaping

Good luck!

[UKjay]

Our neighbors seem quite amazed at both the armadillo and the number of them we've trapped. I am happy we can remove them though. We lived in the city and still had foxes wandering the streets at night; the foxes are protected so they just ran around often causing havoc. One night there was a serious cat/fox confrontation on the street. Occasionally we'd see a news story that one had entered a house through a cat flap

I talked to the golf course and their procedure is quite straighforward based on the potential for damage. We'll have a look at the armadillo repellant; thanks.

As an aside, we also have two roadrunners which are quite fun to watch. I read they eat the bugs, snakes, etc...so I hope they stay around. beep beep

[Cookiemeister]

Originally Posted by UKjay

We had one armadillo trapped and removed, but the evidence in the yard indicates there are more. Night before last a racoon found himself in the trap. Tonight there are 3 traps out.
The armadillos are digging around the foundation of the house, which can't be good. The racoon was probably just looking for food, but he's looking west of I35 now
Question is, will they every give up and go to someone eles's house? Or, am I going to put the wildlife removal technician's child through university
Do other people have critters and if so, do you have any problems if you don't remove them from the area around your house.
This is new to me; I'm clueless. Any advice, experience, horror stories and good news would be much appreciated.

Armadillo's?! That is surprising to me but then I live in SA. We don't have armadillo's but we have skunks, possums and last but not least the demon raccoon. You can trap skunks and possums but the raccoon is too clever to be trapped a second time. If they have been trapped before and transplanted they will avoid a trap no matter how enticing the treat may be. Mothballs are the best repellant for raccoons because their sense of smell is keen and if they find a way to get into your attic, wall spaces, chimney or crawl space you will have big problems so make sure your home is sealed tight top to bottom. They are NOT cute close up and very vicious. I found that cayenne pepper sprinkled in the yard discourages the skunks. The skunks will dig a hole under your foundation it you have an old house w/a crawl space. Raccoons prefer attics. I have heard that possums can get into an attic but they are easy to trap. Animals are creatures of habit and they will keep returning to their old stomping grounds. You can discourage them for a spell but they will return and then you have to put out more mothballs (I would suggest buying some stock). Best thing to do is make sure your home is sealed tight and do not leave cat/dog food out. You can put mothballs in the trash can. Don't put a trap too close to your living space just incase you catch a skunk! I have heard that some pest companies just take the critter to another neighborhood and that the critters will find their way back home (your home). A vicious dog would probably discourage any critters from coming into your back yard at least. Good luck with the demon raccoon.

[capcat]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I thought capcat was refering to grubs, I see now he could have been talking about moles.

In regard to Moles I found some small burrows beneath my deck last year, not sure what made them, they were only about 1" in diameter, and I have not seen signs of anything coming back after I disturbed the soil in that area.

Yes, she was talking about moles. They leave an underground trail about 5 inches wide, if I'm remembering correctly. I didn't think they live in this area. Maybe I'm wrong about that...

[UKjay]

I haven't seen any moles, just the armadillos. They are burrowing under the house which is not good. We put out poison for grubs, but I think that our house became the "Motel 6" of the armadillo population when it was empty. I think the racoon was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. If our yard was completely fenced we could put the dog out.
Well will "keep calm and carry on" any suggestions are much appreciated.