need possum control ideas

[Soundguy]

Today was one of those 'long' days on the farm.

Had to go get hay at last minute due to other obligations on my only other day available. Got home and was unloading hay.. wife went out to feed the pigs.. calle dme from the back pasture.. one of the male hogs had managed to get his tusks caught in t he hog wire panel in a way that he couldn't get out due tot he spiral of the tusks.

I had to run to the barn to get the bolt cutters and pop a wire off the panel... with that done, we noticed a possum had dug into our new chix pen,, luckilly I was using that pen as a holding tank, and it only had a pullet and a hen in there. Hen was smart enough to stay on a roost.. pullet got eaton by the looks of the feathers.

I was out there at dark a few nights ago and saw two big health possum up in a tree near the chix pens... didn't think much of it, as over the years I've 'armoured' up the chix pens with bottom boards and welded wire and hardware cloth. Just that one new pen wasn't done with the boards yet.

I'd like some eradication ideas. I'd really prefer to not use a trap. ( I have a trap.. but the buggers are smelly and a pain in the but to get out of the traps... dead or alive... ).

I'd also prefer to not use a shotshell... that corner of my property is just near enough to the only cantankerous neighbor I have.. I'm sure he'd complain the next day.. ( but I'll consider this ide if I have no other good choice. )./

Preferably I'd like a poison / bait idea.

Will those big green 'rat' poison bricks work on a possum?

thanks

Soundguy

 

[JJT]

Use the shotgun and give your neighbor a call.

I don't like poison, you never know what it's going to get into.

 

[Highbeam]

If you can see the possum (opposum?) then I would shoot him with the 22 cal rifle using a CB round. It is a subsonic round that is about as loud as a bb gun but hits like a 22. It won't cycle the action of a semiauto reliably but you can manually cycle the action.

Maybe they would drink from a saucer of antifreeze if you could be certain that the poison will not be accessed by other animals.

 

[Doc_Bob]

I'd like some eradication ideas. I'd really prefer to not use a trap. ( I have a trap.. but the buggers are smelly and a pain in the but to get out of the traps... dead or alive... ).

Preferably I'd like a poison / bait idea.

If you know what kind of food it likes, poison the food and leave it in the pen for him to eat. Assuming no other animals you like can get to it (dogs, cats, small kids, etc.)
Bob

 

[Dargo]

If you can see the possum (opposum?) then I would shoot him with the 22 cal rifle using a CB round.

Unless you just want to injure it, I wouldn't suggest a .22 of any sort unless you're talking about maybe a .223 (5.56 NATO). I used to trap and I've emptied an entire 10 round rotary clip from a Ruger 10/22 into the head of several a possum only to see it get up and walk off a bloody mess 10 minutes later. I've beaten them with a lead filled oak club until I couldn't hardly swing my arm anymore and had the bloody mess of what was left get up and walk off. Unless you're willing to run over it with a tractor or truck, don't waste any small caliber ammo. It may eventually die, but you would certainly be falling under the blanket of animal cruelty.

I got to where I'd just step on their head (so they wouldn't bite me by chance) and release them from my traps. A few were stupid enough to be right back in the trap 5 minutes later after I reset the trap, but most didn't like the sudden snap on it's leg and being held in place for a while so they never came back. Seriously, I'd either use an axe or large caliber firearm if you want to dispose of them. The use of small caliber is definitely inhumane and, at best, will cause a long slow death.

If you simply want them to go away, get you some habanero peppers, add a little vinegar, and run the mix in your blender until it is just basically a liquid. Spray or sprinkle the solution all around where they go or on what they are eating. I've found that mule tail deer and possum are not keen at all to hot peppers. That is about the safest and most humane way to get them to wonder off to some other area to forage.

 

[EddieWalker]

Unless you just want to injure it, I wouldn't suggest a .22 of any sort unless you're talking about maybe a .223 (5.56 NATO). I used to trap and I've emptied an entire 10 round rotary clip from a Ruger 10/22 into the head of several a possum only to see it get up and walk off a bloody mess 10 minutes later.

Hmmm. I'm wondering if you're joking here????

A .22 to the head will kill just about everything in North America if you are close enough. I wouldn't try it on anything over 50 pounds, but racoons, porcupines, coyotes and possums are the perfect animals for a .22 long rifle.

Brains don't work anymore when they are mush.

Eddie

 

[Slacker]

I'm not sure what the problem is with the neighbor. If critters were eating my livestock then they get lead poisoning. What kind of neighbor would have a problem with that? I don't know your situation, but I think possums and .22LR's go together like butter and peas.
I also vote against the poison. Too many critters running around for that.

 

[dirtworksequip]

My grandpa caught a possum once and brunged it back home for grandma to cook up a possum pie. He skinned out that critter and set the carcuss on the porch to cool. Much to his supprise when he came back out to get it he saw it walking out through the yard. Amazing critters them **** possums!

 

[Soundguy]

I'm also surprised about the .22 issues. My stepfather used to hunt (florida ) deer with a .22 ( back when he was a kid.. and there were less laws ).

I've also taken many varmints with .22 Probably more stuff with .22 than with a .410 shotgun.

The neighbor is a cantankerous old coot. Back when I first moved in, he caused as much trouble for me as he could. Calle dthe fire department one time on me and told them I started a fire on his property. Fire dept showed up.. fire was 100' inside my fence, in an approved burn pil..e tc. Still.. they had to put it out since they were called.

At that point, i put all my pig pens, chicken coops, tuken pens, duck pens, quail, pigeon and fancy pens down there.. not to mention building a round pen for cattle at that end/corner of the property. My maneur compost pile is also located surprisingly close o that corner.

Lets just say that on a good warm windy day... his yard probably smells like a landfill. He dopn't bother me much any more.. but he was unpleasent enough the last time we spoke. My only hope is that he has to move due to breathing difficulty one day ( grin ). I'm also sure the roosters that start getting up at 3am must be very soothing for him. ( A fellow farmer friend of mind asked me a while back why I keep so many roosters... my reply was: 'They are for my neighbor' He said he had a couple neighbors like that too.

In any case.. if it comes to shooting it.. I guess I could use some subsonic 9mm I have,, though it is a bit pricey to drop it into a possum.


Soundguy

 

[3RRL]

I vote against the poison too. The .22 would be my first choice but you could try a bow and arrow and a good dog. That would be fun since they are not likely to out run you. You could take immense pleasure in killing them that way.