Why Are More Armadillos Coming Into Iowa?

Iowa is apparently getting an influx of a very random animal.

Most of the time when we think of road kill we've seen on the roads in Iowa, it's raccoons or squirrels. Now there's been an influx of a different roadside animal in 2024 and the Iowa DNR has some advice for you about it.

For any of you complaining about not getting enough cicadas this summer in the once-in-a-lifetime double brood emergence, here you go. Here's another local animal feat for you.

Iowa's Getting More Armadillos

If you've been on a road trip, especially going anywhere south, you've likely seen these things dead on a road. It's odd since they're most common in the southeastern U.S.

Des Moines Register says that the number of armadillo reports in Iowa over the last several years has looked like this:

• 2017: 9
• 2018: 18
• 2019: 4
• 2020: 36
• 2021: 27
• 2022: 26
• 2023: 26
• 2024 (as of late August): 31

So this year is poised to be one of the most armadillo-filled that Iowa has had in recent history. In July, two of those were found in Marshall County.

Why Is This Happening?

It's not like it's the sudden armadillo apocalypse. For the last 100 years the animal has been moving more and more northern from Mexico, according to Des Moines Register.

An Iowa DNR specialist had two tips for Iowans who come across an armadillo:

• Take a pic of it and send it to Iowa DNR
• Leave it alone

Armadillos aren't generally aggressive but if they feel scared or trapped, they have sharp teeth and claws and will use those to defend themselves. Weirdly, they can actually crash into your car. Armadillos can jump up to 4 feet and if they see your car as a threat, they can smack into the side or the undercarriage.