As Midwestern transplants to the Sunny Southeast, we have had to learn a lot of new survival skills, like how to identify poisonous snakes, kill fire ants, wash love bugs off our cars, deal with gnats, eat boiled peanuts and any number of other items indigenous to the area.

But, the one thing that is still confounding us, is how to get rid of an armadillo.

My husband takes great pride in his lawn and works very hard on it, a task he really enjoys.

But now we seem to be invaded by an army of armadillos, and I don’t need to tell you what they are doing to his pristine lawn.

We have invested in a wild animal trap. After doing Internet research, it has been placed inside the fenced backyard in front of a hole under the gate where we think they are coming in. It even has wooden railings leading into it.

The first night, something stole the rotten banana used as bait, and escaped. The second night we tried again. We woke up the next morning and were excited to see something moving in the trap.

We hurried out only to find it was a possum.

Having no desire to eat possum, it was transported out in the country and turned loose. Further research showed armadillos like to eat grubs and worms.

So the yard was sprayed with grub killer to eliminate the food source, but to no avail.

Now, my husband is reduced to going out all hours of the night armed with a flashlight and a baseball bat in search of the destructive culprits. Our two dogs love going along and chasing madly about as they pick up the scent, but so far, no success.

We have warned all the neighbors, lest they think there is a voyeur prowling in the neighborhood. As they are all reporting armadillo damage as well, we hope they will be understanding and not call the police.

We are open to suggestions and solutions.