Recent sightings of armadillos within Henderson city limits, including a roadkill on Second Street in front of Holy Name School, may concern some about the animals’ effects.
Although armadillos can carry leprosy bacteria, cases of that transferred to humans are very rare, said Clay Horton, the public health director at Green River District Health Department.
He said the animals pose a very low risk to local health.
Still, though, Horton advised the best way to deal with the critters is to avoid contact.
And if someone has the job of cleaning up armadillo roadkill, Horton said to wash hands thoroughly after finishing that task.
But beyond that, he said to handle interactions like you would with any wild animal.
“Like all wildlife, let it be,” Horton said.
Horton said the nine-banded armadillo is now considered an established species in Kentucky.
The nine-banded armadillo is found across much of the southern and western United States, according to information from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Armadillo sightings are becoming more prevalent in Kentucky as the animals move north from warmer climates. Reports of nine-banded armadillos in Kentucky started in the mid-1980s, said the KDFWR.
The Hendersonian reported a few years ago of armadillos sighted out in the county, but this reporter, at least, hasn’t seen or heard of armadillos in the downtown area until this year.
