PLANO - Residents in a North Texas neighborhood say the area has become overrun by armadillos.
Some Plano homeowners say the small placental animals have been hassling homeowners, digging up yards and costing some thousands of dollars.
However, the residents say the invasion is not an act of nature, but a result of a mistake made by the City of Plano.
Armadillos can be quite destructive animals, constantly digging while looking for food. A walk through Mary Kay Schultz' garden shows the results of just such an all-night buffet. Her pansies were uprooted and holes dug in her grass.
"You have to work on it every single day," she said.
At least one neighbor caught an armadillo in the act.
At least seven homes in Plano have complained of extensive lawn damage from the critters.
Schultz said she has spent $3,000 on sensors, traps and repellents to no effect.
Four years ago, neighbors said animal control officers released trapped armadillos into the creek across the street. Peggy Kahler said she saw it happen.
"She just walked over to the edge of the creek and let them go [and] came back with empty cages," she said.
The city admitted it was a mistake and stopped, but officials insisted it happened only once and with one armadillo.
"It was a mistake," said Jamey Cantrell, with Plano Animal Services. "[An] armadillo should not have been released there, but it was a one-time mistake."
The city itself tried trapping them, which didn't work. Officials insist neither the damage nor the armadillos is their fault.
"If you live next to a creek, you're going to have wildlife that live next to you," Cantrell said. "It's just not something the city can be responsible for."
Homeowners said they are convinced otherwise.
"I think there's a real cause and effect here," Schultz said. "They were releasing the animals, I'm receiving the effect."
E-mail: jbetz@wfaa.com
