https://rumble.com/v2h04nq-possum-160y.html

ETA-He's coming in from 250 yards out. If you're viewing on a small screen, skip the first 25 seconds.

Anyone else shooting these things? We've had a couple of neighbors horses come down with EPM. One was euthanized. Around here they get a temporary pass when there's an unintentional close flyby.

https://extension.umn.edu/horse-health/equine-protozoal-myeloencephalitis-epm

We are overrun with possums(& cats ) . Next door neighbor leaves dog food out on their patio 24/7 which has attracted possums & alley cats from miles around. Cats, possums and fleas invade our yard. We can spray for the fleas but cats and possums are an ongoing problem. The cats lie in ambush around the wife's bird baths and the possums find some of her favorite plants attractive as well as peaches and avocados (in season) another attractant.

Impossible to keep cats out but I do trap possums (7 in last 10 days, 4 using a sprig of the destroyed poinsettia the wife had nursed along for 2 years for bait ). Unfortunately, can't shoot them in town.

Regards,
hm

Whenever poss-ible, but not while possessing thermal or night vision.

A good air rifle might be the ticket in town.

I'll second @22magnm22 comment about the airgun. I've taken countless possum with an air rifle with a strong preference for 25 cal. However, I'm not in town any longer...

https://rumble.com/v2gki9s-possums-75g.html

I've shot a couple w/RWS .177 underlever target air rifle. Does the job, but learned just how small the brain is on a possum the first time. After several hits w/o effect, finally resorted to shoulder shot. Seldom see them during daytime, and alarm system would keep me up all night w/all the neighbor's stray cats, so guess I'll have to keep up trapping 'em one at a time (did manage to get two in the trap one night, though ). Slow, but sure.

Regards,
hm

For a laugh.

Look up on youtube,

Leroy Troy "5 pounds of possum"

I think it's just awesome, but I am a redneck.

That’s a great song, always enjoyed hearing it on the Wednesday night bluegrass special on the radio.

I started letting them pass once I figured out they eat ticks.

The last one I shot was nearly all black. I had always heard they eat ticks too. Someone should have told it about that. It had hundreds of ticks crawling all over it. More ticks than I've ever seen in my life. It was disgusting. Just thinking about it makes me feel like I have them crawling on me. There was at least a year supply of ticks on that son of a gun.

I think someone got it wrong somewhere along the way. Opossums don't eat ticks, ticks eat opossums. Makes me never want to shoot one again just because of that. Those nasty rat lookin things can stay far away from me. I don't own a flame thrower. That's all I'd shoot one with. It ain't the opossum that needs destroyed. It's the vermin riding it around like it's a furry double decker bus that need gone.

Possums don't eat ticks. That study comes from an animal rights group. It is propaganda and an example of government grant money going towards the promotion of the anti agenda. They took seven species and inflicted a hundred ticks on each. Then counted how many ticks they could find after a set amount of time...then extrapolated the ridiculous numbers that get posted on FB memes. The narrative that possums are out hoovering up ticks is intentionally misleading and isn't relative to the "study".

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2825780/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34298355/

Thanks, mulespurs....LOL



Haven't noticed any ticks on them down here. May be a regional thing?? I've never seen a javelina which was not covered in fleas down here. Understand that is not the experience of others, especially farther north.

What got me started on this round of trapping is that my wife has been nursing along a small poinsettia for going on two years and one night something completely broke it down and destroyed it. Mama wasn't happy, so, figuring it was the cats attracted to neighbors dogfood.
Set the trap with a sprig of the broken down poinsettia and caught a possum. Interestingly, he spent the night in the trap and left the poinsettia untouched. I caught 3 possums w/same sprig before it was destroyed, but not eaten?? Maybe the smell attracted them???

Then set trap, without bait, adjacent to what's left of the poinsettia plant and proceeded to catch 5 more as of last night.

Regards,
hm

I meant to say they eat ticks.

I have been under the impression for a while that possums eat ticks. This came from reading a couple different articles some time ago.

I don’t know this to be fact and seems to be there’s some differing opinions on this as mentioned above.


Unrelated to possums, but here’s another good song about eating critters.

https://youtu.be/LK7dUNSyLt0

Here are a couple of articles to the contrary on possums eating ticks. Guess I was misinformed or maybe mislead.

https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/possums-dont-eat-ticks/?amp

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877959X21001333

Darn, was hoping they had a redeeming quality....guess not. All I can vouch for personally is they eat peaches, avocados and don't eat, but destroy poinsettias....not endearing themselves to mama.

Maybe OK Rattler can shed some light on this:
I heard they are immune to rattlesnake venom; anyone know if this is true?

ETA: Apparently the possum (and other critters) are indeed immune to snakebite:

Animals that venom can't touch

Regards,
hm

As many possum as we have here I would expect to never see a tick. I have seen as many as 15 in a single meadow. Our meadows are 100 yards not 1000's like some have.

Well, after reading the above publication I just might start running them over again if they are on the road. Though I don't think I will make the noise or use a bullet on them.

I've been known to alter course to put the Goodyears on 'em. Though I should probably set up a 22 for night shooting the stink rats. They are the definition of vermin.

https://rumble.com/v2hstgm-possum-in-the-pasture.html

https://rumble.com/v2ky7vy-mouse-at-77-yards.-possum-at-160.html

Didn't see the mouse pop out of the beehive (41 second mark) until I was uploading the video. Beehives are at 77 yards. Possum was at 160. The grass has really grown in the last week making identification of short legged vermin more difficult. Will need to get out and hook up the flail.

I don't think I'd heard that about being immune to venom but I have heard they won't get rabies. Their body temperature ain't the same as most things and the virus can't live in them. Or so I've heard.

They're pretty interesting creatures really. Weird looking definitely. But kinda neat. Other than carrying ticks like I've seen. That wasn't very neat.