[HCARC] OT - Armadillo Trap

[Gary Johnson]

If you have tried, these critters are almost impossible to trap..  They don’t respond to any kind of bait to get them into the trap, forcing you to try to arrange 2x6 boards to channel him along towards the trap.  Frustrated by managing to catch exactly 1 in 21 years of trying I searched the internet and found a trap which is endorsed by LSU and Mississippi State universities.  It is baited – with armadillo scent.  It so happens that armadillos don’t see well and depend on their sense of smell to get around.  They also happen to be friendly (to other armadillos) and find each other by scent.  Well this guy in Mississippi makes a box trap that he pre-baits with armadillo scent by trapping an armadillo inside so he can give off his armadillo smell and get it into the wood.  The smell attracts them into the trap.  Simple and effective.

Does it work??  Well, On the second night I put it out I got my first armadillo.  Yup, it seems to work.  Each armadillo you catch increases the scent in the trap.

I will be bringing it to the radio club meeting next Thursday for show and tell.  I plan to measure it and make a few more for me.  You can have the plans too.

73,

Gary J
N5BAA