Had a thread awhile back about raccoons in the attic. I was quiiiite mistaken. They're possums. Caught one Monday and it was a youngun that was scared and played dead, mom and sis released it while I was at school, reset trap and caught the parent. This one's Pissed as hell and wants to bite whatever comes near it, I wanna shoot it, mom wants to drown it. Both are viable options. So what's your opinion, take a .22 and finish it off or tie 550 cord to the carabiner and throw it in a water filled trashcan? Anyone want it? Lol.

How would you want to go? Myself,I think being shot would be a better way to go than drowning in a cage!

Lol.. The possum played possum.

A .22lr to the base of the skull, right where the spinal cord goes in, is the best way.

Blast it!!! Then find where they are getting in or it will happen again.

Throw it in the water and shoot at it?

ie; Get both.

Shoot it, I HATE possums.

But, I'd only handle it with nitrile gloves and then bag it.

Rabies is a HORRIBLE way to die and you can get it without being bitten.

^That

Always keep a tag line on live traps just so I can pick them up and take them to a safe place to shoot them without getting clawed/bit/pee'd on etc.

Shoot it. Much more humane.

Meh...I guess I'll be the odd one here. If I live trap a varmint close to the house, I'll usually just haul it down into the national forest and turn it loose. It's only about a 10 or 12 mile round trip and I enjoy the scenery on the drive anyway. AFAIK, nothing has ever come back, but it probably helps that it's across the river too.

Not every creature invading my space deserves a bullet. A few do, but definitely not all.

Kind of a crappy thing to do, to the animal and often to other people.



Even MDC doesn't want people doing that;



"Disposing of trapped problem wildlife humanely

Relocation not recommended

 

 
Rabies isn't an issue with possums ... possible, but *extremely rare*.

Fun fact about possums:
They have a very low body temp and its very rare for them to be able to have or carry the rabies virus.
http://opossumsocietyus.org/faq-opossum/#Do%20opossums%20carry%20rabies?

Having said that, I cant stand those tree rats.
Shoot it.

When I was a kid, I heard my cat on the front porch howling bloody murder.

I open the door and its a possum that has backed my cat into a corner.

I guess she thought it was a huge rat.

I go on the porch, the possum runs.

I HATE possums!

If they were causing damage, I would kill them at first opportunity. But a possum wandering around looking for an easy meal isn't what I'd call a menace to my property.
As far as moving them, I can see the ridge where I turn them loose from my back yard. It's about 5 miles as the crow flies and across the river. It is very remote and being National Forest, there are hardly any people living in that neck of the woods. As far as the poor thing starving, I'm not relocating it to another continent, I can see the ridge from my house......

Karma....


Today I got to assist an elderly resident remove a possum from her garage.
I dont like possums much at all, but this was ridiculous.
All I can say is thank God we dont have body cameras....yet.

Possum was decent sized, and not interested in coming out from all of her Christmas decorations etc she stored in the garage...right next to the old buffet, various end tables and book shelves she kept in the garage as well. Bottom line is this tree rat had LOTS of places to scurry to.


Garage door was wide open.
Possum wasnt interested.
She handed me a broom stick to prod it out.
It didnt care.
I poked it alot with the stick.
It didnt seem happy, but it didnt seem interested in moving on either.
I poked it harder and more frequently.
It still didnt care.

I started using two broom sticks like chop sticks in an effort to lift it out of the corner and into the relatively clear area of the garage floor so it could joyfully bound out to the wild.
It responded by burrowing deeper into the corners and furniture in her garage.

After 15 minutes of poking and prodding, I remembered my dog didnt like the bristles from the broom touching his feet.
Grabbed an old broom from her and poked the possum with the bristles...

It seriously did not like that shit at all. It fucking attacked the bristles.
It tried to eat the broom.
God as my witness.

This thing was growling and hissing and biting the broom, while the elderly lady was screaming like she was on fire.

The street department guys tearing out the broken sewer main a couple doors down stopped with the heavy construction equipment to see what the fuck was going on.
I only wish I was kidding.

I began to alternate between poking with the bristles and whacking the possum with the broom stick in my other hand.

It responded by hissing more and running under the generator closer to the garage door.
Of course, the generator was underneath an antique wooden table which had a very elaborate, delicate and expensive looking Ceramic/Porcelain Christmas Town setting on top of it.
My ability to continue beating on the tree rat with cleaning utensils was further hampered by the large number of party supplies she thoughtfully tucked under the generator as well.

Finally, after much cursing under my breath, and lots of enthusiastic screaming by her, I was able to "sweep" the possum out of the garage.

I'm completely serious when I say I'd rather get in another 2.5 mile foot pursuit in the middle of August  and then fight the suspect for another 10 minutes than do that again.

If you need to dispose of it (and you do), a .22 is the proper thing to do.

I hate saying this. I had to drown it, it wasn't in the budget to go buy a .22 and we needed to reset the trap. But seeing it blow bubbles as it sank and look at me on the way down made me feel horrible. Next ones taking a shot to the head, quick and hopefully painless. Anyone in the north county area got .22 and about 5 rounds max I can borrow?

I had a similar ordeal with an Armadillo on a friends porch. No matter what they did, it would run under furniture or behind things (construction supplies), so I tried to help. It did the same thing to me, so I kept chasing it until eventually it got near the sidewalk part of the covered porch. I had my friend stand ready in the yard with my shotgun, then I grabbed the Armadillo by the tail and slung it out in the yard. It started scampering then, but two shots later it was over with.  



 

Suppressed .45 and Winchester Rangers.  Double tap and problem solved.  Refer to my avatar for results.

Jesus Christ guys!    It's a freaking possum.   You grab it by the tail carry it out & smack it with an axe handle.  

Nobody has ever been mauled by a possum.  

You'd better be fast if you try that with a possum stuck in a leg trap. I had one bite down on my steel toes, and it wouldn't let go until I gave it 1/2 dozen solid whacks to the head with a shovel.

Sounds like if you go hunting possums you better bring a Ma Deuce

Shovel or if you are in the mood and properly equipped, a pneumatic cannon....

A properly placed axe handle will make short work of one. I've probably killed more with an axe handle than a gun. It's cheaper than a bullet these days too.

 

I probably do that about 30-40 times every trapping season.   Same for coons & fox.     I save the bullets for the coyote, bobcats, beaver & otter.  

 

Sounds like you might be another MTA member.  

THWACKKKK!!

I love to shoot teh beaver!