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They are as far north as central Illinois

So they can swim both on and underneath the water without drowning, but crossing a road is more than they can pull off...

Nature's funny like that I guess...

Here, they move the most in spring early summer and then end of summer fall. Extreme weather changes will make them hole up for a few days. I prefer a wooden trap for scent. I have tried every bait/lure on the market as well as the ones I have made. Only one works consistently. They are constantly on the move and don't stay in one area really long but generally always return.

I have cut open 51 prego females in the last 2 years. 1 had 3 fetuses and the rest had 4 . All the same gender.

Drift fence/funnels work well BUT you can expect to see non targets as well.

Snaring them is VERY difficult. There is about a 1/8th inch gap between the point of the top of the skull plate and the body shell that the loop has to land in. Too hard of a load and the snare closes on the head resulting in a slipped loop. Too little to no load and they WILL back up when they feel pressure. (This can be a problem with Comstock cages as well). If you catch the body perfectly right behind the front legs it will hold with a good lock. If the loop closes too far back they will pull it off with their back legs.

I've had pretty pretty good luck catching them at den holes in #280 body grips set specifically for them, and also as incidentals in crossover trails set for otter and beaver. On damage to residential yard complaints, it is sometimes difficult to locate the trails leading to dens. If the home is located in a rural setting, just get out to the edge of the woods or fields and walk it out. The trails are easy to spot and identify, and usually lead to/from a den hole. They are narrow and usually lead thru dense foliage if any is available, which makes double door cage traps effective also. Be sure to check around any out buildings, as that is one of their favorite places to dig dens. I live in prime armadillo country, but only remember holding one in a snare. They do pull a good many down that are hung low to the ground on trails that are set for beaver and otter.

I have read that.

They have almost no impact on fire ants here. You can take a picture of a burned pasture in the winter, that has not been treated or sprayed, and there will be hundreds of mounds in the picture. Investigate the field and only find minimal armadillo activity. If they were a true predator the mounds would be all dug up with the populations of armadillo we have.

I have not found them to touch ants around here either.

They can jump high!
Caught couple in mink snares(rrrgh)

They always jump straight up when you try to avoid hitting them with a vehicle. Grill high sometimes.
I have never held one in a foot hold, many self releases over the years, like deer.
They don't eat ants here either, I don't have fire ants but have lots of red and black ants and tons of termites which they ignore. I believe they eat grubs, worms and insects, possibly snakes I know there are less snakes now than in the pre-armadillo times. Biologist suggested it's competition for food with the snakes, I said does an armadillo know that a snake and a worm are not the same animal?

3-3.5" loaded loop with low-pro or bmi mini set @2" off the walking surface in mink trails going thru grass

Neck. Yes rolling and jumping