# Earth worms



## thompwa (Aug 26, 2019)

As I've been digging around, I've found a ton of earth worms. It's hard to stick a shovel in the ground and not see one in my yard. I noticed a few armadillos last year and they're already going this year. I don't mind the worms, but I gotta stop these armadillos from digging. Any suggestions?

I'm hoping to get rid of the worms and not have to become a wildlife removal expert. Anything I can put down for that? All I have found says carbaryl can be effective.


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

That's a tough one as earthworms are sooooo beneficial you DO NOT want to "get rid" of them!

I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest you're lookin' at gettin' good at trappin'' dem dillos!

Along those lines, What To Do:

*Armadillo Control & Removal*

http://aaanimalcontrol.com/Professional-Trapper/howtogetridofarmadillos.htm

Vs What Not to do,

http://aaanimalcontrol.com/blog/armadillobait.html

_I could list other suggested items, but the truth is this: bait of any kind is not only unnecessary, it's most likely going to impede your armadillo trapping by attracting non-target animals like opossums, raccoons, or cats. Armadillos dig their food out of the ground - they rarely eat food already on the surface. They mostly eat live insects and other invertebrates. However, dillos are very easy to trap without bait. Sure, there's a lot of subtleties that go into it, but trap placement is really the only relevant factor - place the trap where an armadillo is going to walk, and you've got him._

Happy huntin' (kind of ironic when I think of all the yardeners I know who'd kill for a "problem" like too many earthworms! :lol:


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## thompwa (Aug 26, 2019)

440mag said:


> That's a tough one as earthworms are sooooo beneficial you DO NOT want to "get rid" of them!
> 
> I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest you're lookin' at gettin' good at trappin'' dem dillos!
> 
> ...


Thanks for the links. I'm really torn here. Even if I take care of the armadillo(s) that are a problem now, that doesn't mean more wont come back I'm assuming?

I know the earth worms would normally be a welcomed thing but eliminating their food source is the only way I know to send those nasty turtle rats somewhere else. In this case I'm not sure their benefit outweighs the digging. I can care for the lawn without their help 

Besides, this brings me back to a time I trapped a raccoon on our back porch and he was pissed at me. I went to "relocate" him and when I went to pick up the trap he pried the gate of the trap open and took off under my feet. I screamed like a little girl.


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## thompwa (Aug 26, 2019)

thompwa said:


> 440mag said:
> 
> 
> > That's a tough one as earthworms are sooooo beneficial you DO NOT want to "get rid" of them!
> ...


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

I would recommend you research the issue of leprosy being transmitted by armadillos first.

Then you need to check your local laws on trapping and relocating them, if you still want to do so.

It is early Spring. The earthworms will dig deeper as the soil gets more rain, and you won't see them.

The armadillos are just hungry, and digging for worms and grubs like all armadillos do.

Soon they will also go elsewhere, so you might want to just let Nature run its normal course here....

No reason to risk leprosy, and having to trap and relocate armadillos, and kill off beneficial worms....

I had the same problems, and decided to just see what happened; in two weeks, they were all gone.


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## Me surname (Feb 13, 2020)

Iron sulphate in the right dose will irritate worms & send them deeper for a while.


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