By Cliff Chapman / president, Central Indiana Land Trust
If you hear people talk about armadillos in Indiana, you might think they’re describing a few that strayed into our state, or you might assume the cat-sized beasts are just a curiosity.
You’d be wrong.
The truth is, the nine-banded armadillos entering Indiana in increasing numbers can have a serious long-term impact on the state’s ecosystems and a more immediate impact on forests, farms, backyards and homes. For these reasons, Indiana needs a plan for dealing with these four-legged invasives. You can help.
The armadillos’ journey to Indiana has been a long one. Native to South America, they found their way across the Rio Grande in the mid-1800s, spreading slowly east and north but usually staying in warmer areas. As foragers that dig for shelter and for food – and have little body fat or hair – armadillos are susceptible to low temperatures and can’t live in places where the ground is frozen for long periods.
In other words, Indiana’s climate used to be unfavorable to armadillos. Now it has swung in their favor: A Purdue University study noted that Indiana’s frost season has decreased by nine days since the beginning of the 20th century, and the number of days with temperatures below 5° F has similarly declined. That means armadillos can survive here.
And they do. A couple hundred armadillo sightings have been confirmed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in the last few years. Since armadillos are primarily nocturnal and favor remote areas, it’s likely that actual populations surpass sightings, and that they’ll continue to grow.
That means reports of armadillos’ impact will grow as well. If our experiences mirror those of other areas – and there’s no reason to think they won’t – we’ll soon hear more and more property owners complaining about armadillos tearing up yards and landscaping. Farmers will confront deep holes in their fields and damaged crop roots. Homeowners will find their foundations destabilized by burrows. Municipalities will have to address roads and bridges damaged by armadillos’ digging.
For me, the major concern is our natural areas, where armadillos can disturb soils that support native plants and compete with indigenous insectivores for food. For example, like armadillos, native salamanders search under leaves in forests for food. As a result, not only can armadillos reduce salamanders’ food supply, but they also might gobble up salamanders as they feed. In addition, this rooting behavior can disturb the nests of ground-dwelling birds, such as woodcock, ovenbirds, and worm-eating warblers.
Facts like these prompted one of my colleagues in another state to declare armadillos second only to wild boars in their negative impact. The difference, he noted, is that people help control wild boar populations by hunting them. Nobody gets excited about hunting armadillos and, besides, in Indiana, you can’t. They are protected. They can’t be trapped or killed unless they are causing considerable damage.
So, what can you do? At this point, your best action is to help the conservation community track their spread: If you see an armadillo, report it to DNR’s Report a Mammal page. That will help conservationists take the first steps to keep them in check.
It will also help us all understand that we’re not overreacting to the presence of a few random animals. Armadillos could seem like a small problem now, but, at one point, so did Asian bush honeysuckle, emerald ash borers and zebra mussels. All of these are now known to have devastating impacts on our natural environment. Let’s not wait until armadillos are as widespread as those invasives before we act.
Previously published in The Indianapolis Star / Headquartered in the Old Northside, Central Indiana Land Trust partners with conservation organizations statewide to preserve the best of Indiana’s natural areas, protecting plants and animals, so Hoosiers can experience the wonder of the state’s natural heritage. Find hiking destinations at conservingindiana.org.
