Nine-banded armadillos are coming to a Midwestern woodlot and pasture near you\u2014or perhaps they already have. As climate change has created a trend of milder winters, the leathery little relatives of anteaters and sloths have extended their home range northward from Texas into the lower Midwest. Ground zero for the armadillo expansion seems to be Missouri. But they\u2019re also showing up in southern Illinois, Indiana, and even Iowa.<\/p>\n
\u201cArmadillos have absolutely shown up on the scene within the last 10 years,\u201d says Rick Dahl, the chairman of the National Deer Association<\/a> who hunts and manages wildlife habitat in Central Missouri. \u201cI would say they\u2019re pretty common at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou think you\u2019re looking at turkey scratchings but it\u2019s really an armadillo because it\u2019s a continuous line,\u201d Dahl explains. \u201cThe ground is clearly disturbed, but it\u2019s not the way a hen will scratch and move to the next spot. Occasionally we\u2019ll get pictures of them on trail camera. I also see evidence of the holes they dig. I\u2019ll be driving the tractor and planting, and I\u2019ve seen armadillos climb out of them. They\u2019re denning right in the ag fields.\u201d<\/p>\n As they\u2019ve expanded, armadillos have gone through a transformation in the public eye; from beloved, hardy scrappers in dusty deserts to destructive pests that uproot crops, dig up garden beds, and carry leprosy. More than a few turkey hunters have noticed that turkey poult production has tanked everywhere that armadillos have either long-occupied or recently expanded to. So how concerned about the armadillo\u2019s expansion should hunters and wildlife managers really be? And do turkey fanatics have any reason to believe armadillos are the culprit behind the low turkey poult production?<\/p>\n Armadillos need warm temperatures to survive. As warmer climates push further north, the critter\u2019s home range has expanded from Texas and the coastal South. Now, they reside in Oklahoma, Nebraska, northern Missouri, southern Illinois, and Iowa.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have a lot of fat on their bodies. They are a temperature-intolerant animal,\u201d Bowersock says. \u201cIf it\u2019s overly cold for a long period of time, they don\u2019t do very well and won\u2019t expand very far. But likely with climatic changes, warmer winters and shorter stints of cold temperatures have allowed armadillos to expand across the country. In the last decade, we\u2019re seeing more armadillos showing up in more places throughout the southern Midwest.\u201d<\/p>\n That \u201coverly cold\u201d weather means temperatures<\/a> around 32 degrees Fahrenheit. When freezing weather strikes, armadillos will burrow underground. But they can\u2019t hibernate, and the bugs they feed on burrow much deeper into the ground than they can. This means they often starve or freeze to death if the cold weather lasts for more than a few days.<\/p>\n MDC wildlife damage biologist Josh Wisdom recalls a record-setting cold snap<\/a> in 2021 that should have shrunk the armadillo population.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe really thought that would have killed them out. But I don\u2019t think it touched them at all,\u201d Wisdom tells Outdoor Life<\/em>, noting that no one knows how they survived.\u00a0<\/p>\n Four decades of wildlife sighting data from Missouri bowhunters tells biologists that armadillos have chased warmer winters north.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe ask hunters during bowhunting season to record how many hours they spend in their stand and all the animals they see,\u201d Missouri Department of Conservation furbearer biologist Nate Bowersock tells Outdoor Life<\/em>. \u201cWith the data we have, at least going back to the mid-\u201990s we can show that armadillos were stacked up on the Arkansas border, but over time [they slowly crept] north, to the point that they\u2019re quite well-distributed throughout the state. You can probably see an armadillo in most places in Missouri now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n With the expansion of the species comes some questions about how much damage armadillos actually create. They aren\u2019t quite at the level of feral hogs mowing through fences and goring dogs with their fangs. But armadillos leave their fair share of headaches behind.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re omnivores, but they dig up a lot of grubs and other foods,\u201d Bowersock says. \u201cThey\u2019ll dig up these huge holes and channels, kind of like a badger. We have a lot of livestock here in Missouri, so ranchers don\u2019t like them because, inevitably, they can create these big holes that cattle can step in and injure themselves. So they\u2019re not always seen [in a positive light].\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n When not putting cattle at risk of broken legs, armadillo holes might actually provide positive benefits in more wild settings.<\/p>\n \u201cSome science has suggested that all the burrows actually create cover for smaller animals like birds and small mammals in the forest,\u201d Bowersock says. \u201cThey could provide some cover for [other] animals [too]. But we haven\u2019t looked into that a whole lot here in Missouri.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the leprosy concern, Wisdom, a lifelong southern Missourian, says he doesn\u2019t lose much sleep over it. He suggests anyone handling an armadillo should take the same standard precautions they would with any scavenging wildlife.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI know everyone talks about this, but I personally have never heard of anybody getting leprosy or being exposed to it. I would probably put a [dead armadillo] in a bag and throw it away, or put on a leather glove and move it to a spot where it can break down naturally and it\u2019s not going to be an eyesore. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s a possibility but I\u2019ve never heard of it happening.\u201d<\/p>\n The idea of an increasing population of armadillos in Missouri might seem a bit far-fetched. When you think of nine-banded armadillos, you probably think of Texas instead. The armadillo, Spanish for \u201clittle armored one,\u201d is the official Texas small mammal<\/a> because it\u2019s a \u201chardy, pioneering creature\u201d with \u201cmany remarkable and unique traits that \u2026 distinguish a true Texan, such as a deep respect and need for the land, the ability to change and adapt, and a fierce undying love for freedom.\u201d They\u2019re also called \u201cTexas speed bumps\u201d for their tendency to meet an untimely demise on roadways. But instead of getting run over, they often get startled and jump three to four feet into the air, hitting an offending car\u2019s bumper or undercarriage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nine-banded armadillos are the only armadillo species with a stable population. Southern three-banded<\/a>, six-banded<\/a>, pink fairy armadillos<\/a>, and giant armadillos<\/a> are all designated as threatened or endangered. Only nine-banded armadillos<\/a> reside in the United States. Despite their name, they may have seven to 11 bands of leathery armor across their midsections. Contrary to popular belief, nine-banded armadillos actually don\u2019t roll up into a ball the way three-banded armadillos do<\/a> in times of stress. Bobcats, coyotes, alligators, bears, wolves, and raptors all prey<\/a> on armadillos.\u00a0<\/p>\n The armor<\/a>, also known as the \u201costeoderm,\u201d is made of keratin on the outside and \u201ctiles\u201d of bone underneath connected by collagen fibers. This armor covers every body part except for the insides of their legs and their bellies. Nine-banded armadillos can inflate their intestines and float across water or sink themselves and run across riverbeds. They prefer brushy, forested habitat near water. Sandy soils make for easier burrowing and digging for the variety of insects, grubs, and worms that comprise their diet.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite the concerns about leprosy, armadillos have long been considered a meat species in South and Central America. In Texas during the Great Depression, they even got the nicknames \u201cHoover hog<\/a>,\u201d \u201cpoor man\u2019s pork,\u201d and \u201cpossum on the half shell<\/a>.\u201d While contracting leprosy after interacting with armadillos is very rare, the disease is curable with early diagnosis and treatment. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> recommend avoiding contact with armadillos if possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n Turkey hunters with fears of declining gobbler populations<\/a> in Missouri have suggested that armadillo expansion might be a culprit of low nest production. One Facebook post<\/a> shares trail camera images of an armadillo going into an unprotected turkey nest at night. While it\u2019s unclear exactly what the armadillo is doing in there, viewers can use their imaginations.<\/p>\n But at a larger scale, armadillos don\u2019t pose much of a threat to turkey nests. Crows, feral hogs, and raccoons are much bigger concerns, according to MDC turkey biologist Nick Oakley.<\/p>\n \u201cArmadillos are opportunistic egg eaters. I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re going to flush a turkey off a nest. A hen who has put in all the effort to lay those eggs and incubate them is not going to be easily moved off that nest by something like an armadillo,\u201d Oakley tells Outdoor Life<\/em>. \u201cOther predators and certainly humans can push a turkey off her nest, but I don\u2019t think an armadillo is going to be a problem.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Oakley cites research from neighboring Texas<\/a> and Arkansas<\/a> in which armadillos ate eggs from one turkey nest out of 52 and one turkey nest out of 118, respectively. In a different study<\/a> of the stomach contents of 81 Arkansas armadillos, researchers didn\u2019t find any signs of bird or egg consumption.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cArmadillos probably do eat an egg when they come across it. Everything would eat an egg. But it\u2019s likely not one of those primary sources of failed nests or poult predation,\u201d Oakley says.<\/p>\nWhy Are There Armadillos in Missouri?<\/h2>\n
![\"Missouri](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/05\/04\/missouri_average_temperature_chart.jpg\")
Is the Armadillo Invasion a Bad Thing?<\/h2>\n
![\"armadillo](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/05\/05\/AdobeStock_186396669-scaled-e1683302580762.jpeg\")
All About Armadillos<\/h2>\n
![\"southern](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/05\/05\/AdobeStock_64259960-scaled-e1683302874422.jpeg\")
Do Armadillos Eat Turkey Eggs?<\/h3>\n
![\"turkey](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/05\/05\/AdobeStock_213504147-e1683306083329.jpeg\")
How to Get Rid of Armadillos<\/h2>\n
![\"armadillo](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/05\/05\/AdobeStock_284459567-scaled-e1683303351948.jpeg\")
![\"armadillo](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/05\/05\/AdobeStock_309282079-scaled-e1683303548117.jpeg\")