Possum problem?

Question

A nearly full-grown possum keeps coming up on my patio, eating all the cat food, drinking all the water, and sleeping in the storeroom where my cats sleep. I see him once a month or so, especially when it's cold. I want to get rid of him but I don't want to hurt him. If I can catch him in a humane trap, do you think he'd be okay if I turned him loose in a park near my home? There's a river and a small lake and a large wooded area there. Do you think he'd be able to find food and a home? Or is there a chance he's gotten too used to my place? I've never been in this position before and I'm not too sure what to do. Thanks.

Answer 1

Try putting grapefruit peels outside the store room, it works. Sounds odd I know but it works, I had oppossum probems in my shed and I asked the people at the pet store whet to do, and it worked.... For some reason, oppossums do not like grapefruit...

Answer 2

The interesting thing about "have-a-heart" traps is that there use to capture animals at high risk of having rabies (like raccoons, fox, skunks), is that it is illegal to relocate them once they are caught. Otherwise, you would be contributing to the spread of the disease. You are supposed to release them immediately, or humanly dispatch the animal.

But, possums very rarely contract rabies. So thats good.

But relocating animals is a bad practice in general. Most animals will die within days of release because the environment they have been put in either can't support them (food and water) or is already occupied by too many other animals, exceeding its carrying capacity.

Chances are, if you had the idea of taking this animal to the park, just about everyone withing 10 miles of you had the same idea when they had pest problems. Call your local human society or nature center for advice in your area.

Answer 3

live trapping is good make sure to take the critter far away like 30 miles or so any closer and they can and will come back especially that they know there is food available.Try to read up on a food that possums like and cats wont have an interest in and leave a few freebies out for the possum before setting the trap to get it accustomed to going into the trap and eating that bait.

Answer 4

Unless you are willing to remove the food and water which is attracting him in the first place your chances of getting rid of him are slim.  If you relocate him, you may end up putting him in an area already having a  territorial opossum in it...that would out compete "your" opossum causing him to starve...and you may find another opossum to move into his old territory once you remove him..once again sticking you with a opossum problem.  Can you leave the food somewhere accessable to the cats and not the opossum?

Answer 5

Shotgun

Answer 6

I liked 'birdgirls' recommendations...

she might have mentioned to you that opossums are breeding about now...

that they are great mousers and insect eater,..

and they are very interesting neighbors...over all.

The males are roamers,... the females are temporarily territorial while nesting.

the young are helpless, with prehensile tails, and huge curiosity's..

the female weans the young by dispersing them one after the other around her territory parameters, then she moves on.... abandoning that nest area and her young all together.

the young then wander around searching for safe areas, food sources.. and there survival odds dwindle dramatically after that.

She compliments you thinking she is safe where she is now..

her world has far too many difficulty's due to humanity's impatience... and intolerance.

give her a break.  she will give you much to be grateful for.