Armadillos are burrowing creatures, and their burrows beneath decks and even houses have been known to damage structures<\/a> and tear up yards. They also can carry diseases including leprosy. However, some see benefits to the creatures<\/a> because they feed on other pests such as ants and cockroaches.<\/p>\n Between 1989 and 2022, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources confirmed six reports of armadillos in Michigan. Five were roadkill samples tested by the DNR\u2019s Wildlife Disease Lab: two from Ottawa County and one each from Ionia, Luce, and Saginaw counties. The DNR also confirmed a photo from Sanilac County posted on iNaturalist<\/a>, an online platform on which people record and identify plants and animals.<\/p>\n There have been no confirmed sightings of live armadillo in Michigan, according to the DNR. And, as for those six confirmed sightings, some DNR staffers are suspicious of their origin.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of these are suspected of being picked up in a different state and discarded in Michigan, but we don\u2019t have definitive proof of that,\u201d DNR Bear, Furbearer and Small Game Specialist Cody Norton told Bridge in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n If armadillos had naturally wandered into the state, Norton said, it would make sense to spot them in the southernmost counties, but the roadkill samples and the photo came from around the state, including in the Upper Peninsula.<\/p>\n Confirmed armadillo reports in Michigan<\/p>\n 1989 \u2014 roadkill, Luce County\u00a0<\/p>\n 2015 \u2014\u00a0 roadkill, Ottawa County<\/p>\n 2017 \u2014\u00a0 roadkill, Saginaw County<\/p>\n 2018 \u2014\u00a0 photo, Sanilac County<\/p>\n 2021 \u2014 roadkill, Ionia County<\/p>\n 2022 \u2014 roadkill, Ottawa County<\/p>\n Source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources, iNaturalist<\/p>\n Armadillos migrated up from Mexico and into southern states like Texas in the 1840s and Florida in the 1920s. With climate change, their distribution has spanned northward, all the way up to states like Illinois, Ohio and Indiana.<\/p>\n A 2025 study by the US Geological Survey<\/a> mapped out where the nine-banded armadillo (or their dead bodies) have been seen. The study mentioned \u201coccasional reports\u201d of armadillo in Michigan, but one of the authors, Brett DeGregorio, told Bridge researchers didn\u2019t map those reports because there was no precise location data for Michigan\u2019s armadillo roadkill and he heard the iNaturalist sighting was a prank.<\/p>\n Still, DeGregorio thinks armadillos have walked into the Wolverine State.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no doubt that a handful of armadillos have made it to Michigan and then were hit by vehicles or died overwinter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n This is not the first time armadillos have been looked into by the state. In 2024, state officials began evaluating whether armadillos should be put on the invasive species watch list<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were having issues in Illinois and Missouri, mainly like car accidents, getting hit in the road,\u201d said Ryan Wheeler, an invasive species biologist for the DNR. \u201cAnd we were like, \u2018Ah, we might need to look into these.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n After reviewing the roadkill and photo evidence, the group determined armadillos have been in the state, but they don\u2019t seem to be established.<\/p>\n Sign up for our outdoors newsletter<\/p>\n Want more coverage like this delivered directly into your inbox? Sign up for the Bridge Michigan Outdoors newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, they\u2019re obviously consistently showing up here,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cBut, as of right now, there\u2019s nothing that we can point to to say, \u2018Yes, armadillos are here, they\u2019re reproducing and we have a resident population.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s probably because, if armadillos do make it to Michigan \u2014 whether on foot or on a moving truck or as a souvenir from a family vacation \u2014 they likely can\u2019t survive Michigan\u2019s harsh winters.\u00a0<\/p>\n But that\u2019s expected to change as the climate warms<\/a>. Experts like Wheeler think it will only be a matter of time before armadillos clearly settle in Michigan.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Thank you to our Bridge Michigan Outdoors sponsors<\/p>\n Bridge Michigan Outdoors is made possible by generous financial support from our sponsors.\u00a0Please visit the\u00a0About<\/a>\u00a0page for more information and to subscribe to Bridge Michigan Outdoors. Interested in becoming a sponsor?\u00a0Contact Emma Carr<\/a>.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n
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