Julie Conner
Somervell County Master Gardener
As I watched a little armored one scurry and dig, scurry and dig its way across my yard I begin to ponder its place in the universe.
Armadillos are a native of the Americas and part of the super order Xenarthra which includes anteaters and sloths. They are distinguished by the leather bands of armor and when frightened and roll into a ball.
In our yards and gardens they are digging for grubs, insects and other invertebrates. They are solitary mammals and hunt mainly at night. Because their digging is so disturbing to the gardens and flowerbeds we consider them vermin and pest.
I do bemoan when I see one has been killed on the road. It’s like a road runner or a bluebonnet- an icon of Texas. I myself consider the armadillo a burrowing nuisance and smile as the dogs worry it out of the yard. But it doesn’t come around often so I feel no need to eliminate the critter. We will just have an uneasy truce.