How to Get Rid of Family of Opossum, because of Stink and Chewing


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Old 07-07-17, 05:50 AM
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How to Get Rid of Family of Opossum, because of Stink and Chewing

Hello:
Recently, a family of opossum moving into our backyard along with Garage. They make 'odor/stink' and chewing stuff for making their comfortable nest.
At nite, I set a trap which is mid-size and supposed to be 'good trap' purchased from Amazon.
I caught four 'baby-juvenile' opossums after three times stealing slice apples each time for each opossum. Each time, I relocated for their safe-heaven. However, there are more, as seeing that slices of apple set for 'bait' was stolen. They are bold and even not scare of human-presence.
Not only my house but also all over my neighbors has 'opossum issue, due to cutting wood nearby the neighborhood.
How to get rid of opossum, both big and little opossum?

Any good suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
 
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Old 07-07-17, 06:39 AM
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It sounds like a 'neighborhood' problem in which case the 'neighbors' should approach the local animal control people & demand a solution. The best you can do on your own is to seal the entry points, to your garage. That would need to be done at night when the animals are not at home. You maybe able to smoke them out first then seal the garage.
 
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Old 07-07-17, 07:41 AM
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The good news in that opossums are relatively harmless; they don’t get rabies and are not aggressive, though they will act aggressive, which will be a bluff. The bad news is they do bring a bad odor with them and they shouldn’t be living this close to people. I’m sure that before the wood cutting operation started that they would walk in the yard at night harmlessly, but we don’t want them living there. Hopefully when the logging operation is finished, they will return to that area.

It would be good if multiple neighbors would trap and relocate but getting co-operation may be difficult. The one danger in night time trapping is that you may catch a skunk. They aren’t as hard to handle as one may think if the trap is “prepared” ahead of time. By that I mean that the trap should be covered with a tarp or cardboard or similar material so the trapper can safely and quietly approach the trap to open a door. When door is open it needs to be propped open with a stick or something so that the skunk doesn’t set it off again. The skunk wont leave as the trap is now a dark area which it likes. Carefully and slowly pull the tarp back at least more than half way or wait until night time when it will leave.

Skunks or other small animals may be what is stealing the bait. Other than trapping I don’t know what else to do.

I like the idea of calling a local county or government office to at least see if there is an office that can address the problem.

As far as the “stealing” of the bait, maybe the trap trigger has too much tension on it. Put oil/grease on the trigger points to help lubricate and loosen. Sometimes triggers and such need to be filed or sanded smooth, but don’t do that until you’re sure about that because you can’t undo it.
 

Last edited by PAbugman; 07-07-17 at 07:43 AM. Reason: add info
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Old 07-07-17, 08:11 AM
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Think twice about getting rid of them. They eat ticks. Lots of them. They've been rated as one of the best defense against Lyme disease. While there is some debate about how much, it can't hurt to get rid of as many as possible.
 
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Old 07-07-17, 09:24 AM
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Since you like the idea of county assistance, try to get some of the neighbors together & approach them.
 
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Old 07-14-17, 05:40 AM
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Thanks for the response.
I caught 5 juvenile opossums, however adult/Mom opossum is VERY hard to catch. For the past several nites, she came after mid-nite to steal slice of apples and seems run back to where she's hiding which is certainly somewhere in our backyard or in the vicinity.
btw, there is no skunk but a lot of opossum started moving into our neighborhood. As you quote, it's hard to get all neighbors together to get rid of opossums, since there are mostly older folks who living for many years without this sort of issue.

My next question is, 'Is there any good idea on catching an adult opossum?'
 
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Old 07-14-17, 06:30 AM
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I guess that I've never paid attention to their odor, but like having 'possums around. Glad to see PABugman confirm what I had always thought in regard to rabies, because although they sometimes put on a fierce face if you get closer than they prefer, they co-exist pretty well. In fact my wife and I have named a few of them over the years. One of my neighbors mentioned earlier this year that he had to "get rid of one because it had been coming around regularly", but I suggested that he reconsider, because I think of them sort of like having a maid service cleaning up the yard. We're in the country, so have quite a variety of wildlife, and the opossums will do the final cleanup after the buzzards and coyotes are done with a carcass, as well as eating slugs and whatnot around woodpiles, etc. But, I understand that circumstances vary, so to trap the adult I would say keep doing what you're doing; just a matter of patience. Oh, and as far as seeing the big one and all of the little ones, thinking that you'll have a herd before long, I don't know that they are aggressive enough to be considered territorial in the sense that say robins and cardinals are with each other, but I do think they need their space, so imagine that the young ones will venture off on their own before too long, and that you won't find yourselves overrun with them. Not to mention that you'll surely lose a few of them because they don't get across the road fast enough.
 
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Old 07-14-17, 06:37 AM
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Try tying the apple slices and bait to the trigger in some way so that the animal has to struggle with it at least a little bit. Another idea would be to suspend the bait from the top of the cage so that it is over the trigger. The bait can be put inside thin cloth or nylon hosiery if helpful. This way the animal may land on the trigger harder.

Also, did you lubricate the trigger and contact points as I noted in my previous post?

Be aware that skunks and opossums co-exist very well in the same environments. They are nocturnal and do not have an odor until they spray. Even then, the skunk doesn’t have the odor, the surrounding area does. I’ve caught skunks and their families in the past; they are as odorless as cats.
 
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Old 07-14-17, 09:01 AM
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If you caught the smaller ones but the big one is stealing the bait perhaps a bigger trap is needed. Are they reaching in through the sides or over the trigger? Got a picture of your trap? Perhaps some home made trip modifications would help.

A trail camera might give you more information about how many and where they nest.

Bud
 
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Old 07-20-17, 08:29 PM
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You could contact your local wildlife and fisheries ( or whatever they call it there) and they may be able to provide professional grade traps and may be able to offer advice on setting up, baiting, etc.
 

Last edited by Shadeladie; 07-21-17 at 06:43 AM. Reason: Removed non beneficial comment
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Old 07-21-17, 06:02 AM
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Thanks ALL for the advices and suggestions.
For the past week, I watched whether the Mom Opossum coming back to get the bait. So far, I haven't seem her. Normally, I could see her trace jumping around the Garage to get the nest, however there are no messing around stuff putting against one wall of the garage. So, assuming that she went somewhere else, .... or looking for her kid opossums. I transferred all of them(5) about 7 miles away in the wooded area that only place available nearby my home, because there is no longer country-road around my home due to the development taking place for years.

My current fear is that she might be coming back to get more babies next Spring. For that, I'm preparing not to make her comfortable by keeping stuff neatly against walls of the garage.
 
 

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