Opossum Help.

[Smith]

So I discovered I've got a few opossums taking up residence under my house and in one wall (accessed from the crawl space). It's a mother and what was 4 juveniles. They aren't there in the day but come back every night. They are getting in around the AC unit and I've sealed it up as best I can but there's no way to get it completely closed off. We set traps for a week now and they zip right past them. I got fed up and stalked them last night with the BB gun and killed two of the juveniles and I believe I hit the other two youngster but the BB gun isn't going to do much for momma. I don't want to kill them bu the little ones are tearing into the kitchen wall behind the dish washer. Any home remedies for that would send them away or just keep hunting. Can't shoot anything other than a BB gun under the house without hitting AC lines and plumbing. They come in around 9-10 pm.

BTW - Animal Pro's came out and set traps and over the course of the week all we caught was a neighborhood cat. Not thrilled with them and the $150 I paid to have the opossums dealt with humanely. Of course not a whole lot they could do aside from being there at night.

[Guest RCLARK]

Good luck if you can't seal the hole. There really isn't any way to get rid of them short of killing them. Not much deters them. We have put expanding foam in holes and put steel wool in it while it's still wet. That'll keep them from chewing it. You could buy a dog....

[DaveS]

Live animal trap baited with sardines or cobs of corn with molasses poured over them. Turn the cats out and relocate the poss'ums on earth or elsewheres....

You could pick your shots, and use a higher power pellet gun or .22 cb or shorts. Depends how bad you want to get rid of them.

Edited March 24, 2012 by wd-40

[whiskey]

I have exterminated them with a pellet gun, but I don't recommend it. I think the traps needs to be more enticing like WD-40 suggested.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Another option might be to get a couple of leg traps and set them at the entrance. And when you set them do not bait them, just set them in hopes they step on the trigger. They can be had at any co-op and are cheap. The size you need would be less than $10 each. Some people think they are inhumane but if you are on top of it they do not suffer very long.

I would warn against poisoning them or making less than ideal shots. That might allow them to get deep into your interior walls before they die. Having the smell of a large oppossum rotting in your walls can be very overwhelming.

Dolomite

[vaiger]

I tried everything to catch a possum that was eating my chickens. I could not get him into a live trap with any of the traditional baits. An old farmer lady told me to use a honey bun. So 14 dead chickens later, I use the honeybun and the next day there he is. We have probably caught 15 of them on honey buns in a live trap.

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[Guest ochretoe]

Try putting the big moth ball blocks around where they are. They last for weeks and the smell drives off most critters and they are not a poison and eventually evaporate.

[Westwindmike]

I had a whole family move into my crawl space a few years back. I was able to seal up the entrance and left them one way out through the crawl space door. Baited a trap with canned cat food and caught at least one per night. I put a goat bell on the trap door, so I could hear when it tripped. Only caught the neighbors cat once. She stayed away after that.

The ones I had were pretty brave. They were actually coming into my kitchen and eating the cat's food there. Good luck with yours.

[Timestepper]

This first:

We have put expanding foam in holes and put steel wool in it while it's still wet. That'll keep them from chewing it.

Then this:

I tried everything to catch a possum that was eating my chickens. I could not get him into a live trap with any of the traditional baits. An old farmer lady told me to use a honey bun. So 14 dead chickens later, I use the honeybun and the next day there he is. We have probably caught 15 of them on honey buns in a live trap.

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Between raising chickens and having a neighbor who feeds wild critters, 'possums and 'coons have been the bane of my existence. Because the chickens peck at everything I can't use expanding foam, so I built a very tight henhouse and used quikcrete around the bottom of the chicken wire. It keeps them from getting in, but thanks to the neighbor lady getting them use to eating kitchen scraps, they still scatter our garbage from time to time. When it gets bad enough, I just make a "cave set" (four cinder blocks, or three cinder blocks and a stump, stacked to make a tiny cave) with a couple of camouflaged leg hold traps and bait it with either honey buns or chicken/turkey/ham bones. Works every time!

In your situation you could probably just use the honey buns to bait them in the same way bears are baited. Once they're out from under the house and munching the honey buns, just step out from behind a tree and shoot the little sh!ts with a .22.

Good luck.