What's the best, least obvious, way to kill a possum residing between two fences?
- Thread starter Peetz Pool Boy
- Start date
I still say the live trap....if you get busted you tell everyone you are going to release it. If not, you can dispatch it quickly with one shot from an air rifle or 22.
One side note, even live traps aren't allowed in all municipalities. My neighbor happened to find this out the hard way and got fined.
One side note, even live traps aren't allowed in all municipalities. My neighbor happened to find this out the hard way and got fined.
You can legally exterminate a pest that is causing damage to your property, but it is illegal to relocate them without permission of the property owner where release is to occur. Cage it, cover the cage with a tarp and vent car exhaust under the tarp. Painless execution.
If you, even accidentally, killed my dog and did either of these suggestions with his corpse... and I found out... so help me God.
That's disgusting to even consider
Was gonna suggest the Bill Murry method of gopher control but someone beat me to it.
Put bleach, chlorine, or moth balls between fence and it should move on. Like some else said, doubtful if possum is up on your roof. Probably raccoons or flying squirrels which are nocturnal. Check in your attic as they may be nesting there, which can be really messy. If so, live trap them in the attic.
Funny story; had a bro in law that had large bird feeders that were constantly attacked by raccoons at his house in the country. He bought a live trap and over one year trapped some 20 raccoons. (He lived near a large creek where raccoons traveled) He took them 25 miles away and released them.
At the end of the year, a friend of mine in town called and said he had raccoon damage he wanted me to repair. Said he had trapped them out of his attic and gotten rid of them. I asked what he did with them and he said he released them along a creek on his way to work.......1/2 mile from my Bro-in-law's house.LOL He didn't see the humor of it when I told him.
Moral of story is if you release them any where near homes, you are transplanting the problem to someone else. I suggest you release them in your boss's back yard.
Put bleach, chlorine, or moth balls between fence and it should move on. Like some else said, doubtful if possum is up on your roof. Probably raccoons or flying squirrels which are nocturnal. Check in your attic as they may be nesting there, which can be really messy. If so, live trap them in the attic.
Funny story; had a bro in law that had large bird feeders that were constantly attacked by raccoons at his house in the country. He bought a live trap and over one year trapped some 20 raccoons. (He lived near a large creek where raccoons traveled) He took them 25 miles away and released them.
At the end of the year, a friend of mine in town called and said he had raccoon damage he wanted me to repair. Said he had trapped them out of his attic and gotten rid of them. I asked what he did with them and he said he released them along a creek on his way to work.......1/2 mile from my Bro-in-law's house.LOL He didn't see the humor of it when I told him.
Moral of story is if you release them any where near homes, you are transplanting the problem to someone else. I suggest you release them in your boss's back yard.
Can you simply contact your local (county?) Public Health office? Tell them that the animal represents a health hazard (it probably does). They usually have an animal control unit whose job it is to take care of such things. Sure you miss out on the fun described in the other posts but, you paid for it so you might as well use it.
His neighbor is already obnoxious.
What makes you think he will suddenly be reasonable??
Claymore mine and trip wire. Just be sure to point it at neighbor's house
I live on a farm and have way more experience dealing with possums than I would like, as well as groundhogs, raccoons, foxes and the occasional beaver.
ABSOLUTELY do not use poison - the results are way too unpredictable and someone's cat might eat it instead. Also, when critters get sickened by poison they generally crawl into the most secluded place they can find. They proceed to die and decompose which may result in a bigger problem than your current situation.
For possums I've had the best luck with Havahearts or similar foot-trigger actuated live traps. You can definitely find one that is big enough for possums and will fit in that space. I use cantaloupe or wet cat food (preferably with some type of smelly fish) as bait. There's still the issue of what to do with the trapped critter. I dispatch 'em with a .22 to the head using subsonic ammo so as not to bother the neighbors. If this is not an option, I recommend contacting a local wildlife refuge or the state/local game commission.
ABSOLUTELY do not use poison - the results are way too unpredictable and someone's cat might eat it instead. Also, when critters get sickened by poison they generally crawl into the most secluded place they can find. They proceed to die and decompose which may result in a bigger problem than your current situation.
For possums I've had the best luck with Havahearts or similar foot-trigger actuated live traps. You can definitely find one that is big enough for possums and will fit in that space. I use cantaloupe or wet cat food (preferably with some type of smelly fish) as bait. There's still the issue of what to do with the trapped critter. I dispatch 'em with a .22 to the head using subsonic ammo so as not to bother the neighbors. If this is not an option, I recommend contacting a local wildlife refuge or the state/local game commission.
Well, they are very hard headed...but a 12 gauge shotgun blast should still do the job.
Oh, i'm sorry...before you do that you'll need to create a safe space for any crybabies you encounter.
I've attempted to be neighborly, but he's a Senior Administrator at SMU and thinks he's God's Gift to Higher Education (and thus the neighborhood). He hired a really crappy builder and wouldn't know rodent damage from poor workmanship.
I'm going to start with the safest method (moth balls) and monitor the situation to see if the thing migrates to someone else's yard. If that doesn't work, I'll go buy a trap.
PPB you're in Dallas. At first I thought Highland Park in Pittsburgh. If you shot the bastard inside city limits here, the mayor would have you in County and you'd be on the front page of the P-G.
HIghland Park, Texas? Suburban Dallas? Shoot it and be done with it.
Short of that? Live trap. Bait with stinky stuff like fish cat food. If it is something desirable, you let it out, otherwise fill a garbage can with water and drown it. No fuss no muss.
I never heard of mothballs or bleach. Try those first. Might work.
HIghland Park, Texas? Suburban Dallas? Shoot it and be done with it.
Short of that? Live trap. Bait with stinky stuff like fish cat food. If it is something desirable, you let it out, otherwise fill a garbage can with water and drown it. No fuss no muss.
I never heard of mothballs or bleach. Try those first. Might work.
Really? No place to release it? It's a large planet. As for smelling up the car - you don't have a friend with a pick-up? Maybe I've been living in the sticks too long and I've lost my perspective on urban / suburban life.
A 22 is not a shot gun and makes very little noise. More like a crack, than a shot....
I had a struggle with a skunk that took up residence underneath my ground level deck. What worked, to get rid of it, was to sprinkle "Critter Ridder" around its entrance. Your situation is a little different in that it has access to 75 feet to build a new burrow, but may be worth a try. CR is available at Home Depot.
Maybe a trap is the best way for now. In the meantime you can ask him what his favorite 30-for-30 episode is...
You can always use the, "that critter needed killing defense" where you're at.
With the benefit of additional pondering, I've decided to take down my fence (pickets and rails only). As long as there are two fences, there's going to be a "safe area" for some pest to call home. Plus I will gain 150 sq ft of non-legal backyard. If I don't like the look of my neighbor's rails, I'll just plant some creeping vines.
Now I need to figure out what I want to do with the posts. Oversized tomato plant stakes?
I sincerely appreciate everyone's suggestions. Very entertaining.
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Trap it - put it and the trap in a garbage bag, put a hole at the end of bag and attach to car exhaust - it will fall asleep for good.
At the end of the day you've moved forward, broken through the clutter, and shifted your paradigm with some higher order thinking and a new and disruptive innovation that is a clear goal. Very empowering.
The best part? You'll be able to be "that guy" constantly complaining to him in a nice passive aggressive manner when he doesn't weed whack his side of the fence, because the last thing you want to do is be responsible for leaving marks from the weed whacker on his fence.
That "back off" part is exactly what the neighbor could say to him when he makes that suggestion sir.
How about: CHILL DUDE!!
In a contest of wits, I'm betting on the possum.
Just kidding.
PPB,
sounds like you are giving up. for $200 bucks plus gas for my 85 AMC Eagle wagon, I will bring down the saltiest, grumpiest, hunting dog in the North East down to Texas. Guaranteed results within 12 hours. Kids and women probably should not be around when the dog hits the grease pig. We'll throw in a freebie if your neighbor has a cat.
sounds like you are giving up. for $200 bucks plus gas for my 85 AMC Eagle wagon, I will bring down the saltiest, grumpiest, hunting dog in the North East down to Texas. Guaranteed results within 12 hours. Kids and women probably should not be around when the dog hits the grease pig. We'll throw in a freebie if your neighbor has a cat.
