(Live) Possum Removal?

In My Humble Opinion
1

From our garage? Without firearms?

I heard something rattling in the recycle bin. Turned on the light - sure enough I found a small possum huddled behind the trash cans, alongside the wall.

The kids and I went out and made some noise to scare it away. The neighbors must think we’ve gone daft, blowing horns that way. I saw their lights come on. It’s no more than they deserve with their leaf burning that sends smoke right into our front yard, my asthma did not need that.

And of course the little rodent just hunkered down. Would not be shooed towards the open door.

Even put out some leftover pizza.
Any suggestions?

Nothing grisley, my daughter thinks it’s cute.

2

Most people don’t like them but I think they’re cute too. I still wouldn’t give it pizza, you’ll only attract more. Maybe look for a live trap? Some humane societies will loan you one, though you might want to say it’s for a stray cat instead of an opossum. Trap it, let it go in some woods, problem solved.

3

Just make sure you deposit him several miles away. Drop him off within a few blocks, and he’ll be back. I know of which I speak.

4

Grab it by the tail and carry it at arm’s length. (Young possums can curl up and try and bite you so you have to shake them as you carry them. Older fat possums can’t curl up.) Toss it in the back of a pickup truck and take it several miles away and set it free.

5

I’ve moved adults via a havahart ™ trap, and smaller ones just by covering them with a thick blanket and carrying (wearing gloves).

6

I was trying to chase it out! Be gone, you!

Doggone thing just curled up and hid when we made noise at it - unlike the raccoon from last year that had the good sense to dash out. Possums just go…possumy!

But I’ll remember your advice should it return Kansas Beekeeper - figures a beekeeper would have a suggestion.

It is kind of cute.

Hal - great story! Thanks for sharing! I only got through pt II before duty called over here, but I loved your photo! I’ll finish reading it once things calm down here.

7

It may not return - they’re rambling creatures.

8

Havahart-type trap, peanut butter as bait, wait overnight. The next morning you’ll have him safely enclosed and ready for relocation.

9

Be careful. They are cute, but they have lots of teeth. :slight_smile:

10

Live Possum Removal.

BAND NAME!

11

Just turn on your car and shut the garage door, the fumes from your car will kill it. If you don’t want it killed just come in a bit earlier and by then the fumes from the car exhaust will have only made it whoozy and it should be a lot easier to shoo out and catch. And once he’s out in the fresh air he shoud be OK again.

12

Huh, from my perspective they’re ugly as hell and have lots of teeth.

Also they’re marsupials, not rodents.

Rather bad-tempered, but on the other hand they’re not very bright. Once I was crossing a street and saw something ambling out of the shadows. I stopped dead to watch and the possum crossed the street right towards me, practically waddling over my foot. Great survival instinct.

If the OP leaves the garage door open and a bowl of cat food or something in the driveway, the beast will leave.

13

Possums have two distinct defense modes: 1) Back arched, hissing, jaws wide open to reveal many pointed teeth. 2) “Playing possum.” It’s not just lying on the ground with its eyes closed hoping you’ll go away. It really looks like something that has been dead for a while.

There’s no way I’d try grabbing the tail of a possum that’s in mode 1. I’m usually able to chase them off by making noise or, when that fails, poking with a stick. It’s important that the possum has an obvious escape route though - and that means obvious to something with the brain of a possum.

Mode 2 possums can be picked up by the tail and disposed of, and will often keep up the “playing possum” (actually an involuntary response, I’m told) until the giant predator (you) leaves them alone. I’d still recommend handling one with protection – beekeeper’s gloves, perhaps.

Now if it’s “playing possum,” that’s a different story.

14

Since it’s almost always at night when I encounter one, I just shine a bright flashlight in its eyes as I grab its tail. They are too slow, and because of the light too disoriented, to be dangerous.

15

KS Beekeeper, yer right, and that’s a way to transport a possum if you’re confident about it, but it probably would be uncomfortable to most folks, and has a good margin of freakout for both people and possum.

Here’s a confession: I love animals; grew up with many different critters, normal and exotic, became a vegetarian out of respect for all creatures, and try to do right in that. One night in my cabin in Mississippi, a possum wandered in, and was making a racket, got caught behind the stereo cabinet. I had been up all night, sleeping in the living room to stoke the one heat source of wood stove, so was tired. The poor possum had upset my meager sleep, and I was cranky, and got up to get it out. Got a broom to shoo it out where it was between the cabinet and the wall—it got scared and wouldn’t move. I became really angry and yelled and screamed at it, poking it and shoving it—possum wouldn’t move. For the first time ever, and thankfully, the last time, I felt murderous toward another creature. I just wanted to kill it to some damn sleep, and kept poking it harder and screaming at it, to no use.

Somewhere in my fuckwit fiesta, I realized my emotional state was on the crazy side, and backed off, horrified by how much I wanted to Kill/rid the problem. I waited awhile, and, the possum recovered and beat it out of the door it had pushed open.

OK, so that’s a long story, but the upshot is, that after that experience, I made a contract with that bad part of myself to learn a lot about opposums. Good links there for all queries about possums. And, I did; it was the impetus of working for a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center full time.

Some of the best things learned about possums there:
Their bluster and fuss with the “alligator hiss” is mostly a big bluff, but you can’t be really sure. If you’re a possum cornered, you might need to bite.

Possums have very sensitive hearing, so yelling or loud noises directed at them will just further their stay still/freeze/play dead M.O., appropriate to predators. Better to just let them wander off at will.

And, gotta say, they aren’t really bad tempered. They just act that way when confronted , mostly bluff. One of the wildlife vets at the center I worked at was really adept with possums, and I saw firsthand how docile they were when treated gently. When the injured possums got used to their daily regimen, they were not aggressive.They just were used to what was going on, so had no need for their hard wired alarm bell drool and fang fest.

16

KS Beekeeper is right, pick it up by the tail and give it a shake. You can then hold it at arm’s length. And, yep, they hiss like a gator and show a lot of teeth when cornered. If you get too close to the teeth they will bite, but they back right off and try to run. They are not very fast, I can easily outrun one and I am not fast.

There is one thing I am curious about and when I asked a vet, he had never heard of it happening. Do opossums, being marsupials, get rabies?

17

It seems elelle gave me the answer. I looked at the link and learned that the chance of rabies in an opossum is EXTREMELY RARE.

18

Uh, if in case the garage is attached to the house, won’t this spread carbon monoxide all over the house, too? Very dangerous for any human inhabitants of the house, whom I am sure you don’t want to eliminate.