Possum Trapping ?

[mike7mm08]

Got a possum that needs to go. Almost had the neighbors call the cops on me the other evening. Was grilling, it was still light out. Hear something rustling in the rose bushes. Next thing I know possum comes running out at me as fast as I have ever seen a possum move mouth open making all kinds of noise. Well my reaction was to pull out the 45 in my pocket. Fortunately I stopped within a fraction of second of pulling the trigger. Living in the city with neighbors that really don't care much for me does not make for a gunfire friendly situation. Mr possum decided to turn around at about the same time I realized I better not shoot him.

So I got the live trap ready to go. Pretty sure he is living under some building materials behind the house. Got a good spot to set the trap that no one can see it. Got some CB caps for the 22. Mr possum will be executed in the garage. Only thing I don't have figured is the bait.

For coons I have used sweet baits to avoid catching the neighborhood cats. Don't know if possums will go for the same. Don't mind catching and releasing cats. But I really don't like cats and want to avoid the temptation of using the same plan for the possum on them :lol:

 

[toysoldier]

I don't know anything about trapping possums, but I would suggest bananas. An overripe banana puts out a very strong smell that should get a possum's attention.

 

[nekvermont]

I hope you don't catch a skunk while trapping that possum, your plan of shooting your catch in the garage may have to be changed a little. :lol:

 

[Chuckbuster II]

They eat anything
Banana might be a good idea as it would be less likely to attract non-target catches.

 

[Kanook]

This trick should help draw it out into the open,

get a piece of 2x4 aprox. 48" long and (2) flashlights

Tape a flashlight on each end of the 2x4

Run through your yard after dark with the board and flashlights (on) at about waist height making a ""varoom" "varoom" noise

The possum will run right out in front of you.

 

[Mobuck]

If at all possible, I'd leave the trap outside due to the possibility of catching a skunk. Look for a trail along or under shrubbery or at a fence. Coons, possums, and skunks like to follow a trail here and there and it's often visible if you know what to look for. I've never used fruit for bait but it has merit-another reason not to have the trap in the garage-rotting fruit attracts lots of flies and gnats.
I don't waste bullets on possums anymore. I just open the trap and club them as they emerge. Possums take a lot of clubbing BTW. If it hasn't pooped, it's not fully dead.

 

[JFB]

This trick should help draw it out into the open,

get a piece of 2x4 aprox. 48" long and (2) flashlights

Tape a flashlight on each end of the 2x4

Run through your yard after dark with the board and flashlights (on) at about waist height making a ""varoom" "varoom" noise

The possum will run right out in front of you.

:wink: :lol:

 

[jgt]

When trapping with a live trap, I use this method. Wire the door in the open position and put a bowl of fresh clean water in the trap where the animal has to cross the trigger to get a drink. Replace the water with fresh water daily. After the third day, unwire and set the trap door. Go collect your animal the next morning. It is especially effective to catch squirrels that have taken up residents in your attic. They can store food but not water. I found this out when I had one in my attic.

 

[Mega Twin]

Possums are very easy to trap with a live trap.
About any bait will work,I use a very small amount of dry cat food.
Usually,if you do have cats around,you may catch them,but usually once is all it takes for them to stay away.
I usually take them about 3 or 4 miles away and release them.I caught 10 this spring,and started marking their tales with paint to make sure I wasn't catching the same ones.

 

[jack]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[contender]

Boy,,, I love these threads.
Since my business is dealing with animals, it always makes me chuckle at the stuff y'all write.

Ok, first, possums are NOT known as rabies vectors. (Yes, I have had a FEW reports over the years, but in NC,,,, the state allows the relocation of possums & not any other potential rabies vectors.)
Next, any trapping of wildlife,,, even on your own property is trapping out of season. You MAY need a permit, (usually free) to remove an animal in or around your home causing problems. Check with your game commission FIRST!
Discharging a firearm inside city limits is usually illegal.
Now, I usually use a sweet bait to catch coons, skunks, & possums. As noted above, they do eat about anything. Again as noted, using a sweet bait will deter any cats as a general rule. Bananas are a good bait, but coons LOVE them. Again, as noted set the trap outside to be able to better deal with whatever you catch. Possums are noted for "making a mess" inside a cage & as such, it will be on the floor. No fun to clean.

PM me if you need more info.

EDIT: Do NOT use a body trap as it is not target specific. Dog food will attract cats and dogs. Do you want to local news media plastering your story all over the 6 o'clock news?

 

[vito]

I was using live traps to rid my yard of some aggressive squirrels some years ago. I used peanut butter as bait. Occasionally I would catch chipmunks, and on two occasions possums. The squirrels would be taken about 10 miles away and released, the chipmunks I would release on the spot. The possums I took just a mile or two away and they never returned to the best of my knowledge. Peanut butter worked well because it would not fall off the trigger plate in the trap, even if the trap itself were knocked about by the animal.

 

[phonejack]

I've used dry dog food. I live in the city also. I dispose them by dropping cage and all in a barrel of water . Being a good Baptist I believe in full immersion. Then I drop them into a heavy duty garbage bag and into the can for pickup. Coons I take away and release. Possums are nasty stinky critters.

 

[cas6969]

My father borrowed one of my traps a couple weeks ago, he's trying to relocate a feral cat. He baited it with the only thing he had on hand at the moment, an old grilled cheese sandwhich. :lol: Apparently it makes bad cat bait. But he caught a possum and called me because he couldn't get rid of it. He couldn't get him out of the trap. The more he tried, the harder he resisted. The more he tried to shake him out, the harder he held on. So he left him be. And he still didn't leave. It was a good 20 hours later and well past dark before he decided it was time to move on.

So if you're planning on relocating it vs killing it, be prepared for the possibility of a squatter.

 

[Specs]

Peanuts from a farm type store like Rural King bought in bulk work well for squirrels and possums in a havahart trap. Disposal is something to be decided by yourself. I don't wish to advocate, but I DO believe that cleanliness is next to Godliness so my pests get a good long deep bath.

 

[redhawker]

Almost anything works but they do love cat food. There is a great live trap I recommend, it called Tru-catch. The beauty of this trap is that if you get a skunk in it and don't want to deal with it all you have to do is, using a long pole, roll the trap over and the door falls open. Come back later after the skunk leaves and re-set.

https://www.animal-care.com/index.cfm/id/10/category/151/secondary/314/Traps-Baits

 

[6gun]

I caught a possum by accident once put out my live trap with peanuts in it for squirrels next morning there he was sitting calmly in the cage, I opened it up to let him out and he wouldn't move so I walked away and left him there came back a few minutes later and he was gone.

 

[Mike J]

Never trapped a possum. I did finish one off my girls dog had tore up pretty bad though. Mercy killing. He took out the whole family over the course of a couple of weeks.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

This trick should help draw it out into the open,

get a piece of 2x4 aprox. 48" long and (2) flashlights

Tape a flashlight on each end of the 2x4

Run through your yard after dark with the board and flashlights (on) at about waist height making a ""varoom" "varoom" noise

The possum will run right out in front of you.

I don't know if that's true of not but I'd like to see the video.

 

[GA Cracker]

Just catch him by the tail and shake him down when he tries to pull up. Crack him on the head with something and lights out. Done that many times over the years.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

And wear some heavy gloves.

 

[contender]

Folks,, lets NOT advocate or even hint at ANY method of illegal dealings. Such as; illegal relocation, illegal methods of killing them. Any form of poison designed for rats or mice.

We are better than that here.

 

[mike7mm08]

I am fairly legal in this situation. I can legally hunt or trap any unprotected species year around no restrictions on my own property no license needed. State law which local cannot override. Local can however prohibit discharge of weapons which of course in a city of 500 thousand they do. Well a 22 cb cap is no louder than a nail gun. In my closed garage no one will know any better. Will take the risk opposed to beating or drowning the animal to death and the prolonged suffering either would bring.

As for calling the authorities to deal with the critter. Well this is how that would go. Cleanup the building materials today or we are going to start fining you today. Does not matter that you are in the process of residing the house and doing new windows and can only work on the weekends and have nowhere to store the materials. Everything is neat and orderly covered with tarps etc.

As for the fatal eviction notice for the little bastard. Well first he did piss me off coming at me. Little odd to see one a couple hours before dark too. So he might not be quite right. Really the main reason is my mother lives with me. If she has a similar encounter she is going to freak and probable fall trying to move to quickly to get away from it. Also have a couple pear trees that I thought were having branches broke in the wind. Thinking it is from the possum. He is about as big as I have ever seen one.

Thanks for all the advice. Going to set the trap tomorrow before I go to work. Work second shift so hoping I get him and can take care of everything under the cover of darkness when I get home.

 

[cruzerlou]

I've done quite a bit of possum traping since we moved out to the country in 1997, but they ain't all that hard to trap with my 10/22 ,using CCI Stingers and a 4X scope
Lou

 

[6gun]

I've never heard of a possum coming at someone before I always thought they were quite timid creators, most I have seen are either running to get away from you when they see you or laying dead in the road, the one I caught never showed any signs of being vicious.

 

[DA_TriggR4Ruger]

http://m.wikihow.com/Trap-a-Possum

 

[mikewriter]

Possums are nasty critters. I had a local animal "control" person tell me also that they don't carry rabies, so I looked it up. Seems their blood temp is to cool to support the virus. I've trapped them using dog or cat food quite often. Last one I had to deal with was last week. He had climbed onto an outside window ledge of our house to keep the dogs from getting him, I got him with my pellet gun. I do understand they can carry a disease which is deadly to horses?

 

[contender]

Mike7mm08, I'm glad you are choosing to be legal & humane.

As for him coming at you, often, when I'm dealing with animals, I see similar things. The animals are a bit scared, confused, and if a nocturnal creature, possible disoriented by daylight. Also, like all creatures, (including humans,) if we get our daily routine disrupted, we are likely to do abnormal things. In this case, out during daylight may have been for one of many odd reasons. And a couple of hours before dark isn't too uncommon. I hear it a LOT in my work. Next,,, animals will often try to "bluff" a potential aggressor, (even bears,) before taking flight. So, coming at you may seem like a crazed charging aggressive creature, when it may have been entirely different.
One thing I tell my customers is that animals look at us a large predators. (Well, the ones not accustomed to humans by the idiots who try & hand feed them.) When they are wild, they want to avoid us if possible.

A piece of additional advice prior to setting the trap. Put down a piece of cardboard, scrap wood, or whatever under the trap. It'll keep the stains off the floor of your garage.

 

[redhawker]

Possums are nasty critters. I had a local animal "control" person tell me also that they don't carry rabies, so I looked it up. Seems their blood temp is to cool to support the virus.

This is, in general, true but not absolutely true. In my area, a few years back, we had a guy start his truck up and he heard a noise. Opened the hood and there was a mom opossum and several babies on her back under the hood. He proceeded to remove them and, in the process, got bit by one of the little ones. He was smart enough to put them all in a cat carrier and isolate the one that bit him in another container. Animal Control took them all to the Health Department for testing. Turned out the one that bit him was positive for rabies although all the others were negative. He, of course, had to go through the treatment.

 

[6gun]

Yeah I always wondered about them being aggressive some animals are when trapped, it was just odd when the one in my trap just sat there on his rear haunches like a big Dodo bird not showing any emotion and just kind of looked up at me when I opened the cage door and didn't move I kind of expected him to come springing out or do something other than just sit there motionless till I left. oh well I let him go unharmed and he went about his way.