Close Encounters of the Possum Kind - Pt 2

[pookshollow]

I just went out to turn out the barn lights and danged if there isn't another possum in my feed room!

I couldn't find the pipe/rope combo that we used to garrotte the last invader - it's dark out there! - but I managed to chivvy it into one of those plastic kennel crates.

Now what? It's not a happy camper!

[Jim-mi]

How about giving it a swimming lesson in a water tank.

[RoseGarden]

Now what? Well, you don't have a lot of options, ya? Either take it off somewhere far from home and dump it or kill it. And no one squallering about dumping possums, please.

[farmergirl]

I like opposums, but I'll be the first to say BE CAREFUL handling it. They can contract distemper and rabies, to name just 2 zoonotic diseases. I'm wondering how it ended up in the feed room Doesn't the room have a door? How about getting a couple barn cats?

[Little Quacker in OR]

OK,OK! I was quiet for the first one but now I'm stepping in. Too much misinformation here! Firstly you have mice and or rats. That is why the 'possum is there! They are superb mousers and ratters! IF you have poultry that is in contact with a predator of any kind you are not doing your job! Tighten up your security and let the oppossum do his! Eating the rodents in your barn.

Secondly they DO NOT carry or catch distemper OR rabies! This is our only marsupial..they are a Primitive creature and have a much lower body temperature than other mammals...so low they don't contactmost viruses. When wounded this works against them as they are slow to heal.

So, cut them some slack. They won't hurt you. During the summers they put away an amazing amount of harmful insects like grasshoppers, slugs and snails.

They love fruit and eggs so I put out bananas, grapes and hard cooked eggs for them to keep them around my garden and duck houses to help with rodent control. What is it with you people who just can't help but kill off the very creatures that help us against our true enemies...rats and mice! TThese vermin have killled more humans than all of the predators in the world and are still doing so because we are helping the rodents!

LQ

[MyHomesteadName]

Originally Posted by Little Quacker in OR

OK,OK! I was quiet for the first one but now I'm stepping in. Too much misinformation here! Firstly you have mice and or rats. That is why the 'possum is there! They are superb mousers and ratters! IF you have poultry that is in contact with a predator of any kind you are not doing your job! Tighten up your security and let the oppossum do his! Eating the rodents in your barn.

Secondly they DO NOT carry or catch distemper OR rabies! This is our only marsupial..they are a Primitive creature and have a much lower body temperature than other mammals...so low they don't contactmost viruses. When wounded this works against them as they are slow to heal.

So, cut them some slack. They won't hurt you. During the summers they put away an amazing amount of harmful insects like grasshoppers, slugs and snails.

They love fruit and eggs so I put out bananas, grapes and hard cooked eggs for them to keep them around my garden and duck houses to help with rodent control. What is it with you people who just can't help but kill off the very creatures that help us against our true enemies...rats and mice! TThese vermin have killled more humans than all of the predators in the world and are still doing so because we are helping the rodents!

LQ

Thats cool, I didn't know that. Thanks.

[BaronsMom]

The local vet has my parents all up in arms with opossum. He told them their urine/droppings carry diseases that may be lethal to horses.

****I found some information on a university site about the disease,Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) at http://www.extension.org/pages/Equin...itis_%28EPM%29 *****

So, my dad has a homemade box trap - they've caught seven in the past two week using just plan old bird seed from the bird feeders in the trap (which is safer than cat food because you'll catch a skunk).

This is a great time to catch opossums since they don't really hibernate and need to really put on fat - keep eating when temps drop. They don't have a great fur coat to insulate them well.

My folks haul the opossums 10 miles away and enjoy watch them waddle into their new digs.

Oh, and I like opossums too - fascinating ancient marsupial. If you don't have horses to worry about, don't worry about the opossums - enjoy them

[pookshollow]

I have horses, I have poultry - I also have barn cats. I've seen horses with EPM - and a good friend lost hers to the disease last year - it's not pretty.

The possums are not eating the rats, they are eating the cat food and cr*pping all over my feed room/milking parlour.

It's an old pole barn, so pretty hard to tighten up security to keep them out and still allow access for the cats.

It's still in the crate, and I have now found the snare, so when my big city visitor has departed, I will dispatch the creature. This weekend, I am going to ask DH to teach me to shoot. And I am not going to leave the cat food down at night anymore.

[Macybaby]

I also will kill any possums that get into the barn.

They are in the barn eating the cat food. It's an old barn, and they come and go the same way the cats do, through the broken window. The cats also go through the dog kennel. It has 5" wire mesh, so the dog does not fit, but the cats do. I don't think a possum would brave a 90lb yellow lab that thinks they are chew toys. The cats arent real crazy about the dog either, but she pretty much leaves them alone.

In less than a week, I got two of them. In very good conditon, but they have been eating a lot of cat food this fall. I have four cats and a dog living in the barn, I've never seen a live mouse in there. The possums also love to live in the hay stack (round bales) and that is a real danger to my horses. EPM is the main reason we don't want possums around the barn. Those that stay out in the woods we leave alone.

I use a 22 revolver, though both time I ended up running back to the house to get it.

This was the first one, I opened the barn door, turned on the light and there he was. Turned off the light, ran to the house and he was still there munching away when I got back. Oh, and I don't think the cats were interested in taking on something that much larger than them.



This one was actually sitting in the house that I have set up inside the barn for the cats. Had a real nice nest made for himself (yes, both were big males). No wonder I was going through 80lbs cat food in less than a month. I thought first one was huge, but the second was even bigger.



I do plan on trying to find another way to keep the possums out of the cat food. Poor dog was going nuts, as her kennel is about 5' away from were the possums were.

Cathy

[Fire-Man]

My Opinion Here-----------I too am tired of some one trying to tell me/others, they should not do this or that----Don't kill this, Don't Kill That---I FEEL If my Place is invaded by a Un-Wanted Animal that is killing My Wanted Animals or Eating their Food Or What Ever-----I can and will Do what ever it takes to take care of my place. If some of you love certain animals so good-------GOOD---------Raise all of them on YOUR place that you Want---millions will be fine. If you will pen up some possums you could probably Have a Whole Heard in a in a short while. I Don't go out Hunting down possums, coons(Animals)---I even feed wildlife in another location on my farm, would never shoot a one of them, like to watch them--in their area, but when they choose to enter my Wanted Animal Area----I do what is needed to protect my Wanted animals. Its not a pretty site to see your chickens slaughtered, laying every where because a possum or coon or bobcat decided to go on a killing spree. Some people raise Chickens to Kill---Sure some of you don't like that-----Some raise Cows, Hogs, goats, etc, etc, to Kill---Sure some of you don't like that----then DON"T DO IT. If WE--The Un-Wanted animal Killers Want to Kill a Un-Wanted animal because we feel the need or kill a farm animal to eat---------We don't NEED to be Treated like Kids and Told------How Bad We Are------We Are Adults and will Do What We Feel Is Needed to live and to Protect---Our Place. I have Guinea's to eat my Bugs and Cats to eat my rats and Don't Want possums or coons to come in and harm my Wanted Animals in any way if its nothing but slobbering in my cat food. You Fussers do your Part--------Raise some animals to help out with the ones we "Take Out" instead of raising He/double/L at us. Thanks!! Randy

Chew me out now---if you want because I don't give a Possum Cra_!

[pookshollow]

I FEEL If my Place is invaded by a Un-Wanted Animal that is killing My Wanted Animals or Eating their Food Or What Ever-----I can and will Do what ever it takes to take care of my place.

You won't get an argument from me!

I love to see wildlife - I just don't want to see it in my barn or my house. The fox that got my duck a week or so ago was just doing what foxes do - and my poultry were outside. They are now in for the winter so they should be safe. We did see a couple of foxes feeding on the carcase of the duck, on at night and one during the day. If I knew how to shoot, I would have shot the fox I saw in daylight - just to put it out of its misery. I have never seen such a scruffy mangy beast - clumps of hair missing everywhere!

Macybaby - -those are biiiig possums! I saw one like that running across the road one morning, when I was on my way to work. It looked to be almost as big as a raccoon - but 10 times uglier.

[coso]

I had one balled up in a feed barrell not to long ago. They'll eat dog food, scraps etc.. if you leave it out. First time I ever heard of them being good mice and rat catchers though. Have to see that to believe it. I did see one eating another one that was dead on the highway one time . There deadly on poultry if they can find a way in. My .02. .22 semi-automatic is my way of getting rid of them and armadillos also.

[pookshollow]

Well, I took care of the possum. If there's another one in the barn tonight, I might just go berserk with an axe.

Armadillos? We don't have them up here - what problems do they cause that you need to get rid of them? Just curious.

[RoseGarden]

Yes, some of 'us people' don't like wild animals that invade the barns, etc. Possums will even dig under fences, I've seen one doing it before. A while back had one get into the crawlspace under the house, shredded out a bunch of insulation and made itself a nest. I could hear it scratching around under the bath tub. Ugh.

[coso]

Armadillos are like Old Blue. Old Blue, Old Blue he died so hard he dug little holes all over the yard. Armadillos dig holes in the yard, in the side of creek banks, in my hay fields etc.. plus if you happen to run over run they can ruin a tire. I was sitting in the house one evening and kept hearing something hitting my outside duct work coming in from the outside wood furnace. One was trying to burrow in under the furnace !!!!!!!!!! We didn't have any here until about 15 years ago. They say if we would have some really cold winters it would kill them off some and they would go back south. One could only hope.

[pookshollow]

Ah, I see. Like groundhogs up here - they dig holes all over your fields then your livestock steps in the hole and breaks a leg. Gotcha!

[chickenman]

Originally Posted by Macybaby

I also will kill any possums that get into the barn.

They are in the barn eating the cat food. It's an old barn, and they come and go the same way the cats do, through the broken window. The cats also go through the dog kennel. It has 5" wire mesh, so the dog does not fit, but the cats do. I don't think a possum would brave a 90lb yellow lab that thinks they are chew toys. The cats arent real crazy about the dog either, but she pretty much leaves them alone.

In less than a week, I got two of them. In very good conditon, but they have been eating a lot of cat food this fall. I have four cats and a dog living in the barn, I've never seen a live mouse in there. The possums also love to live in the hay stack (round bales) and that is a real danger to my horses. EPM is the main reason we don't want possums around the barn. Those that stay out in the woods we leave alone.

I use a 22 revolver, though both time I ended up running back to the house to get it.

This was the first one, I opened the barn door, turned on the light and there he was. Turned off the light, ran to the house and he was still there munching away when I got back. Oh, and I don't think the cats were interested in taking on something that much larger than them.



This one was actually sitting in the house that I have set up inside the barn for the cats. Had a real nice nest made for himself (yes, both were big males). No wonder I was going through 80lbs cat food in less than a month. I thought first one was huge, but the second was even bigger.



I do plan on trying to find another way to keep the possums out of the cat food. Poor dog was going nuts, as her kennel is about 5' away from were the possums were.

Cathy

Cathy, that is one of the largest possums that I've ever seen! And I've caught hundreds of the things! Yowza!

[Old Vet]

I thought that armidilos were born dead on the road.

[Westwood]

When armadillos are frightened, they instinctively jump straight up. About bumper height . . . . . . .