Sod, Armadillos, Castor Oil & Earth Worms

      I'm a lover not a fighter, but a pesky armadillo is getting on my last nerve. This story began a few weeks ago when we laid a whole bunch of new sod at the ranch, in what we call Uncle Jimmie's Area. The area's called that because many years ago, while visiting us from New Mexico, my Uncle Jimmie, my cousin Jina and my mother sat in the shade in this lush, green patch of grass near our Big House.

Uncle Jimmie's Area

     Unfortunately, time took it's toll on Uncle Jimmie's area. Once lush and cool, the area became dry, dusty, dirty and disappointing. So, I had the bright idea to put down sod. How hard can it be? Well, I'm a moron.

Putting Down Sod/Windmill Ranch

     Have you ever put down sod? Imagine picking up 10-15 pounds of dead weight, walking with it for 10-50 feet, putting it down, pressing it in and repeating that process for approximately 325 times.😡😡 If you're knocking on 60-years old, it's borderline terrible!

     But perseverance prevailed! We got the sod down and watered in. It looked pretty good for an amateur job. Then, it happened. The worst possible thing. The one thing we dreaded. T & I pulled up yesterday and....

     Teresa: "Oh no!"

     Me: "What?"

     Teresa: "Look!!"

     Sure enough, the one thing we didn't want to happen.. happened. The one thing that equaled spending money for nothing happened. The one thing that made 325 times of picking up and putting down 10-15 pounds of dead weight seem pointless happened. 

     A grass destroying, bug diggin', sod bustin' armadillo found our newly planted Bermuda sod and made a mess of it. I'm trying to work on my language, but this moment was not my finest. In fact, I had no idea that I could use so many expletives in so many different ways. I used 'em as a noun, a verb, an adverb, a adjective and I think even as a preposition. Great stuff!

Armadillos Hate Castor Oil

     I'm not going to lie to you. I'll shoot the hole diggin', grass destroyin', armor clad mess maker if I see him, but remember my lead sentence; I'm a lover not a fighter. So, we Googled "How to Get Rid of Armadillos." It seems Dillos have a strong sense of smell and don't like Castor Oil or Cayenne Pepper.

     So you guessed it. I spent time today spraying 16 ounces of Castor Oil with four ounces of dish liquid and water on Uncle Jimmie's area. By the end of it, I was covered in nasty smelling oil and sticky Dawn. 

     But, I'm not leaving our Dillo dilemma to chance. We got a trap too. Google says, "Use a trap baited with meal worms, earth worms, cat food or sardines." We doubled up. We used worms and cat food. The trap is positioned near the suspected burrow (underneath the Big House stairs.) Here Dilly, Dilly. Come out and play!! I'll keep you posted.

Bill Robertson (5/12/21,) In the southern United States, some armadillos are naturally infected with the bacteria that causes Hansen's disease (Leprosy) in people and it may be possible that they can spread to people. But, it's VERY RARE.