Possum ain't playing possum no more

We were surprised (EEEEEEEKKKKK!) to find a possum in our dog food bin this morning (I don't think my 13 yo son will ever do a vertical leap quite like that again!)

Those varmints are just plain mean and nasty - that long snout and those teeth (shudder). Anyway, I think I earned some respect and fear from my son when I (and my trusty square shovel) took care of the possum with a few quick blows.

Now to go get a rodent-proof dog food container, so we don't find any more surprises in there!

Ewwww! My grandma had one in her trash can filled with cat food (no lid except a piece of wood that wasn't large enough). Man do those things show their teeth! Glad you could handle yours, my grandma called me to get rid of hers, but all I could do was call my daddy! Hey, it was his mom's possum! He just turned the can on it's side & the thing took off.

These things are so ugly they make my insides shake.
Can not stand them.

Thought we had a prowler 2 years ago and decided to sit
up one night and see what was goin on. Sat there very quietly...waiting for the rustle of the bushes...snorty sound....figured if they were smart they were peeking in my daughters window and not mine :*)

When I ever saw what it was...was under my neighbors pine tree every single night...ew! I yelled and told him to find
a new place to live but...alas...he stayed for the rest of the season. He just stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me and made that awful noise and very slowly walked away....guess he won that one.

They are truly among my "Top 10 Creatures I Wish Didn't Exist" list.

And aren't ya'll glad there wasn't an asterisk next to this thread? I fleetingly thought about grabbing the camera to snap one before I did him in, but then I got afraid he'd get away while I was taking his picture. Then I'd have felt really dumb when we had to wait for him to fall in the feedbin again the next night.

And it sure wasn't a pretty sight when I was through with him, but he WAS good and dead.

Sure he wasn't just playing possum?

Just kidding.

Dead is the best kind of possum in my opinion.
So nasty looking!

Glad you got him! I found one in our thrash barrel one day - scared the bejeebers out of him. DH shot him. I think they look like big rats and are as gross as rats.

<< "Top 10 Creatures I Wish Didn't Exist" >>

Ah, neat topic. What are your top 10 creatures that shouldn't exist -- no good purpose and a royal pain to humankind and animals? Mine: ticks, mosquitoes, flies. Spiders and snakes at least do some good. Three "bugs" don't add up to 10 unless you assign an "8" to ticks.

Anybody else want to wander into this creepy topic?

Grasshoppers! You should see the hordes of them around here and what they're doing to anything that is green.

We had a possum living under our deck for a spell. Our male cat tangled with it. Luckily I happened to be at the door and chased it off. Our cat did get nipped but no damage. Took him to the vet just to make sure. THen the darn thing went and had at least 1 baby. I looked out my backdoor one night and there was the ugliest little possum I ever did see. All ears and eyes. DOn't know what ever became of it.

About 2 weeks ago, I saw a dead possum on a nearby street and hoped it was our resident possum. Haven't seen any signs of it, so maybe it was.

We once had a raccoon living under our deck. HE would get into the garage at night and get into everything. Tip over garbage cans and whatever else he could get into. HE just left one day when he could no longer get into the garage.

#1 on my top 10 list....SPIDERS....I know there are some good ones, but I just can't stand them. THey give me the willies. Especially those great big brown ones.

and slugs!! and white flies and spider mites! can you tell I'm having a problem with them all:)

Oh Yes, tiG I agree.....Slugs, really dispise those slimy things.

awww your all so mean i think they are neat. friends of mine had one they raised from a baby they are so SOFT. i found one in the barn when i raised rats one night . went in with a flash light and as i swept across a table with the light i saw a rat and thought how did you get out i lit it up again and saw it was a possum i grabed it by the tail and escorted it out the door. their bark is much worse than their bite. give them a chance and they will be more than happy to leave

Troy..There for a minute I thought you were talking about slugs!lol

Troy the next possum we find is yours. Wanna send me your addy and I'll ship it to you? (*grin*) I suppose some would find them interesting (I'm not sure I'd call them cute, cuddly, soft or anything like that.)

We live in a county that has one of the highest rabies percentages in the state and when wild animals come up this close, there's a better-than-average chance they're rabid. With two cats and two dogs (and three kids, two nephews and a lot of neighborhood kids in and out of here, I have to put the health and safety of people and pets first. Once a critter gets on my deck or in the pet food, they are trespassing and - when necessary - I'll make sure they don't come back.

I'm with Troy. We've raised several from a very tiny size. They aren't the smartest critters I've ever seen but I've seen dumber too. They are very clean if given the choice. Just give them a chance and you'll learn they aren't really all that bad a varmit. However they will fight if cornered and those teeth can break a large bone so you don't want to tangle with them that closely to their mouth. Normally tho they will play dead or retreat. If you think 'possums are bad, tangle with a racoon! Now those critters are aggressive and mean when they get crossed. Been there, done that.