OVERVIEW
Many customers have a need for preventive or curative services for Armadillo. This burrowing animal can become a nuisance by digging up landscape areas, vegetable gardens, and flower beds and looking for a nesting site and food. They will feed on scorpions, spiders, and other small invertebrates, fruits, berries, and tender roots. The burrows are 7 to 8” in diameter and up to 15 feet long. They may burrow under foundations, driveways, and other structures.
In the past we have relied on exclusion and cage trapping to provide solutions for these customers. With planning and attention to detail, baits and traps can provide resolution. Even so, they are time-consuming, reactive, and not seen as environmentally responsible. While these tools will always be available to integrate into a service solution for our customers, Armadillo Scram Professional granular repellant has been added to our material selection. Armadillo Scram is expected to be an effective, environmentally responsible year-round solution to suppress Armadillo populations by repelling them within a few days of application. It works by making the food, tunnel, and surrounding area smell bad and by affecting the Armadillo’s digestive system.
SERVICE CYCLE
This protocol is a monthly service cycle. The initial month service consists of 2 services 14 days apart. The subsequent months consists of single applications over the affected area. All applications are identical.
APPLICATION OF ARMADILLO SCRAM PROFESSIONAL
Two treatments are required in the initial service month.
- Initial Service (Day 1): The service should start by inspecting the property for damaged areas. Identify and treat areas where armadillo damage has been observed and/or is occurring and extend the treatment area up to 30 feet from the damaged section/area.
- Day 14: Reapply Armadillo Scram using the following steps.
- Heavy or extended rain will shorten the effective period. Otherwise, after day 14 of treatment, the area should be serviced every 30 days.
APPLICATION TECHNIQUE
Apply the material using a rotary spreader at a rate of 1 pound per 600 q ft. Use a handheld spreader to also treat garden plots and vegetable beds including areas where damage has been observed or occurring. To treat the burrow entrance, drop half a scoop (scoop will come with the product) of the Armadillo Scram into burrow entrance and saturate the entry with water.
If the area is 5,000 square feet or less, treat the entire lawn and garden using a rotary spreader at the labeled rate of 1 pound per 600 square feet (approximately 8.33 pounds total). After each application, watering for five minutes is vital to activate the product and initiate the repelling process.
Use a gridiron pattern (like the lines on a football field) for applying granular to the landscape or lawns:
Following the above representation, each turn will be a 12-foot turn. Start at one edge of the lawn and use the following technique for applying Mole Scram Professional. Use this technique until you have finished that run. This application procedure will apply granular to a 10-foot-wide area per walking path.
DO NOT overlap your passes. Instruct the customer to water the treated area for at least 5 minutes.
FOLLOW-UP
With monthly inspections/services, proactive services are not required. Successive watering after treatment will activate the product to provide continued protection.
EXTRA SERVICE PROTOCOL
Occasionally, customers may find and report on new Armadillo activity. We will return as we do for any service request and retreat the areas of concern. For areas with new activity, follow the Day 1 protocol, including the Day 14 treatment.
CALIBRATING THE SPREADER
Prior to treatment you must calibrate your application rate. Assure the spreader is clean and free of any residues from other products. To calibrate application rate:
- Lay a tarp to contain any material applied.
- Measure out a 15 x 10-foot area.
- Measure .5 lbs. of product
- Using the #2 setting on the spreader, make application to area.
- If too little or too much product is left, adjust your pace or setting or the spreader until you apply the correct amount of product.