Armadillos leave two distinct types of holes in yards: small, cone-shaped foraging holes that are 1 to 3 inches deep and 3 to 5 inches wide, and larger burrow entrances that measure 7 to 8 inches in diameter. If you’re waking up to scattered shallow holes across your lawn, armadillos are one of the most likely culprits, especially in the southern and southeastern United States.
What Foraging Holes Look Like
The most common sign of armadillo activity is a scattering of small, cone-shaped holes across your lawn or garden beds. Each one is roughly 1 to 3 inches deep and 3 to 5 inches wide. You’ll rarely see just one. Armadillos root through soil searching for insects and earthworms, so a single night of feeding can produce dozens of these holes across a yard. The pattern looks random because the armadillo is following its nose, zigzagging wherever it detects food beneath the surface.
In loose mulch or freshly turned garden soil, the damage looks less like individual holes and more like rooting, similar to what a small pig would do. Mulch gets scattered, soil gets turned over, and shallow divots appear throughout the bed. Foraging holes can be up to 6 inches deep in softer ground. The soil around each hole is typically pushed to one side rather than piled neatly on top.
What Burrow Entrances Look Like
Armadillo burrows are a different scale entirely. The entrance is a clean, round opening about 7 to 8 inches in diameter, and the tunnel behind it can extend up to 15 feet underground. Armadillos dig these burrows for resting and hiding from predators, not for feeding. You’ll typically find them at the base of trees, along fence lines, under decks, beside foundations, or in wooded and brushy areas near water.
If you’re finding foraging holes in your lawn, the armadillo’s burrow is likely within 100 yards, usually in a nearby wooded or overgrown area. A single armadillo may maintain several burrows across its range. The entrance won’t have a large mound of dirt piled around it the way a gopher hole does. Instead, there’s usually a fan of loose soil kicked out from the opening.
How to Tell It’s Not Moles or Gophers
Moles, gophers, and armadillos all dig in yards, but the damage they leave behind is very different. Moles create raised ridges of soil just below the surface, long tunnels you can feel as soft, spongy lines when you step on them. Their mounds are small (about 2 inches across), volcano-shaped, with the hole hidden in the center. Mole damage is linear and connected. Armadillo damage is scattered and random.
Gopher mounds are larger, typically 10 to 20 inches across, and crescent or fan-shaped. The hole is plugged with loose soil and sits off to one side of the mound. Gophers work deeper underground and don’t leave the surface ridges that moles do. Neither moles nor gophers leave open, cone-shaped holes peppered across the lawn the way armadillos do. That scattershot pattern of small, shallow holes with no tunnel system connecting them is the clearest armadillo giveaway.
Tracks and Other Clues
If you have soft or sandy soil, you may spot armadillo tracks near the damage. Nine-banded armadillos, the species found throughout the U.S., leave prints about 1.4 inches long and 1.2 inches wide. Each footprint shows four toes with visible claw marks at the tips, spread apart so the middle toes form a shape resembling the letter “V.” One of the most distinctive features is a thin line running between the footprints where the armadillo’s tail drags along the ground.
Other signs include torn-up sod in irregular patches, disturbed leaf litter in wooded parts of your property, and damage that appears overnight. Armadillos are primarily nocturnal, so you’re unlikely to catch one in the act during the day.
Why Armadillos Target Certain Yards
Armadillos eat invertebrates: grubs, beetles, earthworms, and other insects living in the top few inches of soil. They find prey using an extremely sensitive sense of smell, then dig it out with powerful front claws. Your yard becomes a target when conditions make it easy to dig and rich in food.
Irrigated lawns are especially attractive. Watering softens the soil, making it easier to root through, and draws insects and worms closer to the surface. Yards with heavy grub populations, compost areas, or thick mulch beds offer concentrated food sources. If your neighbors aren’t seeing damage but you are, differences in watering habits or soil composition are often the reason.
Reducing Armadillo Damage
Removing the food source is one of the more reliable long-term strategies. Treating your lawn for grubs and soil-dwelling insects reduces what’s attracting armadillos in the first place. This won’t produce instant results, but over weeks it makes your yard less appealing compared to surrounding areas.
Fencing works for smaller areas like garden beds. Armadillos can both dig and climb, so effective barriers need to be buried several inches into the ground and angled outward at the top. This is practical around a vegetable garden or flower bed but rarely worth the effort for an entire lawn.
Live trapping is another option. Armadillos don’t respond well to most baits, but overripe fruit, spoiled meat, or mealworms placed inside a trap can work. Positioning boards or temporary barriers to funnel the armadillo toward the trap entrance improves success, since these animals tend to follow edges and barriers rather than walk into open traps. Check local wildlife regulations before trapping, as rules vary by state.
Cutting back on evening and nighttime irrigation can also help. If the soil surface dries out and hardens between waterings, armadillos have a harder time digging and are more likely to move on to easier ground.