Talk to me about possums

[ladysown]

Caught a large one this morning.

Could it have been the culprit?
Killing the lads mice and the baby rabbits?


How far away must one transport them?

 

[Celice]

it can be. but depending on the size of the opossum it would most likely go after larger rabbits. now if it were me personaly I'd put it down so it would not be a future problem.

 

[macksmom98]

Around my house, there is no amount of distance that is good enough, I would put him down also

 

[wamplercathy]

Relocate it at least 25 miles from your home. Conservation land is best. You can call the department of conservation and ask them. Putting it down is an easy fix, but they are good for the eco system. Plus I've never seen an opossum hunt, preferring small rodents (mice not rats), eggs, and insects. With carrion being at the top of the list and only being surpassed by human food found in trashcans. Overall they look grouse so people think the worse of them. Not saying that they won't hunt but it's a simple choice of takeout over cooking at home. They will, more often then not, go for easy food.

Don't get scratched or bit. And wash your hands really really well afterwards.

 

[alforddm]

Hubby saw one crawl out of the guts of a dead cow once. He swears he will never eat possum after seeing that.

I love that story. :lol:

 

[SoDak Thriver]

Possum only bother our stuff if they're suffering from a mineral deficiency. I treat their illness with a single dose of copper-jacketed lead.

In all seriousness, though, possum are great in that they eat dead stuff, but near humans they cause nothing but trouble looking for the easier food of our trash and small livestock. If you wish to relocate it, I would go 20+ miles. Like Wampler said, conservation land is best. Or someone you don't like.

I would only eat them in a pinch or in lean times. This from someone who puts a rattlesnake on the grill every chance he gets.

 

[ladysown]

It was the BIGGEST possum I have ever seen. LIKE EVER.. bigger than anyone I've even seen at zoos and what not.

Was going to be drowned (like the rats) but hubby and son nixed that idea.. rather um.. VOCALLY and Fervently.

We drove him far far away over a few major roads, past rivers, woods, and dropped him in the middle of a big ole' forest we know.

The goal.. be far away from us and carve out a niche somewhere else.

Caught him with sardines and crackers. He barely fit into my trap..... a good 1/3 bigger than any other possum I've ever trapped before and the only one I found alive.

BOY OH BOY did he ever stink. ICK

Hissed at us really good when I finally shook him out of the trap.. hard job that. Was really glad he shambled off rather than take a turn at nipping me. (was rather nervous about that)

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

I don't like possums. Like SDThriver, I lean more toward lead-base solutions.

Stay vigilant. There are probably more of them lurking out there.

Stock up on sardines and crackers!

 

[Dwc77]

Fun fact possums have more teeth than any mammal in the United States 50! Sure wouldn't want to get your hand to close to those :lol: I sure don't have a problem putting them down. But one time I was ice fishing on one of those days it was starting to warm up a little. And here came one walking towards me so a threw him a crappie he stoped looked at it finally bit into it turned and looked at me like he was saying thanks and walked off with is dinner :dinner:

 

[BlueHaven]

They also can and do carry a protozoa that gets in the water and can cause EPM (encephalitis) in horses. They transmit to the horses spinal cord, and cause neurological problems. The treatment is long and expensive and the horse can relapse. Most owners chose euthanasia as treatment is no guarantee of a healthy animal.. I loath the buggers and shoot them if I find any near my place.

 

[wamplercathy]

What no cheese? :x

How could you be so cruel. :lol: :lol:

I've fostered baby opossum in the past. Just loved them. But hey I'm a little insane. :lol: :lol:

Thank you for releasing it over killing it. Opossums here get well over 20Lb, that's an average. Raccoons well over 50Lbs.

 

[akane]

Usually the only trouble they cause is if you make a mistake with the garbage so I rarely worry about them. I do think I had a horse suffer EPM where my mom is living now. It's very heavy with possum. It's hard to get a diagnoses early on EPM but there is usually only one result so it doesn't really matter if you confirmed it or not. It only matters how far you plan to let the horse go before you euthanize. Other than that I wouldn't care about them too much. They aren't worse for the garbage than the coons and they rarely hunt anything alive. Partially for lack of wanting to expend the effort on the cage/pen which is pretty easy to possum proof.

I was watching a survival show somewhere in between reality tv and documentary (not the amount of cheating and scripting you get on reality tv) and they tried to eat a possum. 15 days with only sharing a medium snake and some grasshoppers was not long enough for them to be willing to eat fire roasted, unseasoned possum. They risked another couple days trying to find and kill a rattlesnake instead. :lol:

 

[SoDak Thriver]

They used to climb up on my grandpa's bird feeder. They're so slow. He would walk over there and pull their tails to make them hiss at him. He thought it was funny. He never shot one, never got bit, never had them bother his livestock or garbage.

I've shot enough of them out here that they only come to dig in my far compost pile, more than 200 feet from the house. That's as close as I've trained them to get. :lol:

 

[a7736100]

http://opossumsocietyus.org/general-opo ... formation/

"Whether rural, residential or in the wilderness, opossums are a benefit to any area they inhabit. Their diet includes all types of bugs and insects including cockroaches, crickets and beetles. They love snails. They also eat mice and rats. The nocturnal opossum is attracted to our neighborhoods by the availability of water, pet food left out at night and overripe, rotting fruit that has fallen from trees. The opossum in turn helps keep our neighborhoods clean and free of unwanted, harmful garden pests and rodents, which may carry diseases. The opossum has earned the title of “Nature’s Little Sanitation Engineer.” "

I had a mother who stayed in my attic once.

 

[akane]

So I need a possum for my mouse problem instead of a cat.

They used to climb up on my grandpa's bird feeder. They're so slow. He would walk over there and pull their tails to make them hiss at him. He thought it was funny. He never shot one, never got bit, never had them bother his livestock or garbage.

My grandma's house had a basement that wasn't fully closed off under the porch and they cut a cat door in the basement door. Then set the food in the area behind the door. It was probably a monthly event to get a possum. My grandpa would just grab them by the tails, haul them to a garbage can loaded in the truck, and dump them in this wooded area. They were never a real threat or problem. Just a regular annoyance. His fox terrier would go nuts at them coming in the house. They were probably bigger than her. :lol: