Need ideas for catching possum

We've had a heck of a time with a family of possums this summer. At first it was young and stupid ones after my young chickens. We caught all four pretty easily and quickly with live traps and moved them. Then about a month later I managed to catch the mother with my bare hands when she was after one of my rehab robins. She moved out with her kids. Now, I have what I assume to be the grand old man of the group and he is smart!

He took a silkie and we set three live traps for him. So he moved to the chicken pasture next. we set live traps for him there and shut the chickens up in a tight pen at night. Nothing happened for several days. Then he pulled a chicken through the wire and ate it that way. Then we started setting leg holds around the outside of the tight pen. Nothing happened for a week or more. Every day I would go and trip the traps then let the chickens out and reverse it at night. He started coming earlier. We started penning them up earlier.

They learned to roost away from the sides of the pen so I quit setting the live traps (I worry too much about other animals and birds getting in them) Now, last night, DH (the D does not stand for dear today) said he shut them up for me. He didn't. I lost my last Welshimer hen. So in a huge rainstorm I moved all the chickens to the chicken coop.

I'm ticked off and frustrated, How can I catch this clever old guy. I know he is going to hang around out there, just waiting for the opportunity to raid something. Does anybody have a fool proof bait for the live traps? (other than chickens) I have tried things that really smell strong, like cat food and sardines. (I caught cats and a seagull) I've tried fish, (caught that cat again) even ham sandwiches (That cat is getting pretty testy).

The leg holds are pretty limited where I can use them and hate to bait them anyway (Worried about that cat) I only put them inside the fenced in pasture where I knew nothing else could get to them (well, there was an unfortunate grackle, but I rehabbed him and he is getting along fine with one leg)

Do you think that since the chickens are out of his reach he might get a little careless and hit the live traps now? (Oh boy, that cat is going to hate me)

I'm open to ideas here. I need help.

Oh my! When I saw this and saw the author, I wondered why you would even be asking for help. Now I see why.

I have never heard of a possum being so smart before and so nasty. That is crazy!

When I had trouble catching a really smart raccoon, the only way I trapped him was to set up a situation that mimicked what he had been doing. (he was ripping up a bird feeder. I set the trap on the pole and made the trap into a bird feeder)

So with that in mind. Is there some way you could set the live trap so it would look like part of the chicken fence? Maybe cutting a hole in the fence and setting the trap into it to make it look like a door way into the chickens? I know this is extreme, but sounds like you have extreme situation.

I have found that possums do like peanut butter on bread (and it will not attract cats) But I am not sure this guy would be fooled by this.

Good luck!

I'd forgotten about peanut butter! We used to joke about spreading peanut butter on the road to get rid of possums. I'm going to try the live traps tonight and if I get the cat, well, thats a good thing too. Once I get her , her kittens will be easy and hopefully I can find a nice barn somewhere for them instead of living in the wild.

It doesn't surprize me that it could be so mean. This neighborhood is full of evil things.

Killing all the predators, especially the indigenous ones, is probably not a sustainable solution. As long as you're maintaining those little candy boxes of birds, something is going to come to get them. (Around here, it's raccoons normally.)

I think the overall easiest way to deal with it is to use 1x1 wire mesh for wherever the birds stay at night. The predators' hands won't fit and It can't be gnawed through, and certainly it's nothing a bird could be pulled through. Use the chicken wire or 4x4 mesh maybe for a pen they're in during the day.

I like the idea of making the live trap look like an entry into the chicken pen. If the cat doesn't get there first, it might work.

Now that's an idea!
I may have found where he is living. There were two possum tracks in a sandy spot in the shed! SO I guess it's time for a shed cleaning. Now that the leaves are gone I can see a huge cavity in a tree next to my fence too which might be a possibility. A couple of little smoke bombs tossed in there might bring out who is in there without hurting them. If I could just get this little sucker out in the open where I can reach him, he's mine!

How about putting a bowl of roast chicken and scrambled eggs in the trap? These seem to be the two things that bring the opossums to my backyard without fail. Not sure how to keep the cat or other critters from getting to it 1st though.

My dog would think he was in heaven if I put that in the back yard.

A havahart trap with a piece of fried chicken in it works every time for me. You have to wire the piece of chicken up to the top of the trap so he has to work on it and step on the trip pan. If you do trap a kitty then it is unharmed. But if you can confine the cat at night for about a week then you will probably be successful.

Here is a raccoon I caught that way but the same bait and technique work with possums; I caught an unwanted possum before snagging this raccoon:

HI, I live in the country and am truely sympathtic with your plight but i laughed till i cried.You just could'nt win for losing.
A dog i used to have hated possums and i would chase a possum out of a hidey hole and Bear would attack and put an end to possum. Is your dog big enough to kill possums?
I agree sardenes makes the best bait.
The best of luck to you. Hope you already caught him.

My dog won't kill anything buyt his stuffed toys. Unfortunately he has been raised in a wildlife rehabilitation enviornment and thinks all animals are his friends. I suspect that he also feels this way about tresspassers, burglers and salesmen.

I did finialy make the possum uncomfortable enough that he moved on to get away from the constant harrassment.

I think I've given up an chickens now anyway. I never knew thy could cause so much trouble for a person.

As a bit of a city slicker I really found this thread educational and entertaining.

I really enjoy the occasional critter that makes its way to my yard......sadly my two dogs do also, but in a totally different way. So far count is German Shepherds 6, Squirrels, Possum, Skunk 0 (though that skunk made its mark let me tell you). Raccoons were too smart and rascally for the dogs and got away clean - if awfully mad.

If you still had a problem I could lend you a dog..... :-) Truthfully I wish my dogs were more like yours!

I'll keep my dog thank you. I had neighbors dogs dig under my fence this summer and kill 30 turkeys and chickens. It was and still is a nightmare.

Of course my 130 pound lab slept through it.

My lab mix would help anyone take off anything they wanted. They are definately lovers not fighters.
My Dillen is also a singer. He might run a possum off by singing to it. LOL

I don't have any possum and raccoon problems I feed them the table scraps(chicken bones cat food discard, fruits} whatever and they leave everything else alone birds included . They are perfect garbage disposals and the possums will clean your yard out of the slugs because slugs are possum candies. i used to rehad wildlife and possums were a big part of it . And no we do not get rats because they come at the same time all the time , plus they clean their plates.

I have ducks for the slugs and do rehabilitate possums every year. My son thinks it hysterical. He says "Mom, you are raising ROADKILL!" Sometimes I think of that during the middle of the night feedings.....

After our 22' of snow we did not see the possums for several weeks until this past sunday. The little one that I had been feeding since the summer was waiting in his habitual spot on top of one of my planters on the porch rail. I gave her some 3 days old meatloaf that she took gingerly from me I also gave her some apples that she ate later. Females are less agressive than males. The next morning the big possum guy or girl was there cleaning the left over cat food , he is very skittish. Possums have been maligned for no known reasons. The problem people know very little about them . According to research done by the Smithsonian Institute possums live for about 2 years in the wild and 4 to 5 years in captivity, they have very poor eyesight which cause them to become road kill as some people call it. I rehabed possums for many years and always enjoy their company, they are clean, they dont bite, get along with other animals , and if it was legal to have one Iwould have one. in the meantime I content myself to feed them on my back porch and watch them get fat

I caught a possum once in a live trap. When I opened the cage and waited for him to come out, he charged at me and grabbed my pant leg and ripped it. I was really surprised by his actions. I think most people dislike them because they look like a big rat. They are not a cute creature. And they can be mean without being provoked.

I have learned lots about them and now do not dislike them. (except for that mean one) Of course I don't have any chickens. They tend not do any damage on my property and clean up garbage and carrion, so I have learned to tolerate them. I think they are clean and flea less because they are too ugly to have dirt or fleas stick to them.

Possums actualy go through a stage where they are very cute. It lasts about three days. This was day two.

Baby possums are indeed cute! At some point they just seem to outgrow their fur. - And the teeth are a bit off-putting

So they ARE cute at some point in their lives. I never would have guessed...

You keep telling me they are cute for three days, but I am a hard sell on that one! LOL

After a relative lost a couple of chickens to possums.I have to agree with cpartschick. Are possums an animal you either love or hate with no inbetween?

I'm pretty neutral possum-wise, but I do have chickens so that could change.

've never lost, but a few chickens to possums. I don't really begrudge them needing to eat. It's neighborhood dogs that I can't abide. They wiped me out in one night.

Oh jylgasgin, I know that was devestating.
You have my empathy.

Ditto

I agree that a neighbor's dog is more of a threat than the possums. Many years ago I was raising Silkie bantams & had just purchased several rather expensive new birds. I had problems with the neighbors dog earlier in that year but after telling the neighbor, the dog had not been back. I heard a commotion in the chicken yard and saw the dog after the chickens. I yelled but he paid no attention. I ran in the house and got a 410-22 over & under shotgun that we had. I had never fired it & wasn't sure which barrel was which but I put a shell in both chambers, steadied it on the top rail of a fence, sighted in on the dog and pulled the triggers. The dog let out a yip and headed for home trying to tuck his butt underneath him as he ran. He had killed 12 of my Silkies, including my new expensive ones. I turned it into the insurance company. Soon I received a questionnaire and one of the questions was: "How do you know it was (the neighbor's) dog that killed your chickens?" My answer was "Because it had one of my chickens in it's mouth when I shot it in the A-s." They sent me my money within the week!! My husband said "I guess they decided that if you would do that to the dog, that they weren't going to mess with you." (The dog was not seriously injured)

LOL!

po
ssums....nature's little speed bumps

LOL.. I can't help but laugh. I know it's not very funny when you have wildlife reeking havoc in your yard and killing your animals, pets or otherwise. Anyway, the only things that came to mind as to how to get rid of the "old man" possum was to 1 reverse your sleeping schedule to where you can stay up all night for a couple of nights a week in an attempt to catch the rascal. Second, was to go to the store and buy chicken livers, gizzards and/or some cheap chicken wings or drumsticks, but something with the bone still in it so that you could tie it to the live trap to keep it from being hauled off by the cat. Granted, you'll more than likely end up with the cat in the trap again, but at the same time if the cat is trapped first and you're up then maybe you would then be able to catch the possum. If you know who owns the cat you may want to suggest to the owner to keep their cat in the house and explain why so that they'll not think you're trying to be mean or cause a neighborhood dispute.

As for foolproof plans to catch opossums the only foolproof plan would be to do as a hunter would do and change your schedule for about a week to coincide with the possum's schedule so that you could take him/her out with a pellet gun. I don't like killing any wildlife if I don't have to and especially if I'm not going to eat it, but there are times I believe it's unfortunately necessary to do such a thing. Especially when you have an animal like a opossum killing your chickens.