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#41
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
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#42
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 08:00:13 -0700, rbowman
wrote: wrote: On Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:37:26 -0700, rbowman wrote: wrote: So, I'm looking for another method to get rid of this opossum. I'd like to do it as humanely as possible, but will do whatever I must, since it's already done a lot of damage by knocking things over and crapping on stuff. Any suggestions on what to use? Such as poison???? Baseball bat? Shovel? Hoe? It's only a damn possum. They look a lot more fierce than they are. I'd heard about possums and probably saw them in zoos but I never ran into one in the wild until I was working a contract in Fort Wayne. Sure enough, it hissed, drooled, and played dead when I wasn't impressed.by the threats. I put them right up there with blue heelers. God made the animal, looked at the results, and said "Let's try that one again." King snakes use the same tact. First they do a good impersonation of a ****ed off rattlesnake. If that doesn't seem to be working, they launch into the dead snake act. King snakes are a lot prettier than possums though. Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. I get a stick, lift up more evergreen, and whatever it is is lying on its side looking dead, and drooling. I panic a bit, fearing that it might have harmed Espy, but I find him elsewhere and rush him inside and then call Animal Control. Much to my surprise, Animal Control only deals with cats and dogs. Anything else has to be sick or wounded. Well, I tell the nice lady, I think it might be dying and it's drooling. Yes, she replies, it's playing possum. Oh. That's what it is. So she tells me to call an animal trapper and I do so. But he tells me that possums are fairly common in the backyards, and that they do more good than harm and tend to move on after a few days. For $50 he'll collect it and drop it in a rural area, but why don't I just let it be and see what happens. After all, he says, it eats all the grubs and insects that do actual harm. Well, I don't want it huting my cats, but he tells me that it's probably been back there with the cats for a few days, and they generally leave each other alone. So that's what I did. Nothing. After a few days it was gone. It had no problem climbing over the fence that kept my cats in. Of course, my cats really don't want to roam but the possum does. A year or two later, I'm working on the computer and see two of my cats sitting in the hallway looking down at something. Oh oh. Whatever it is doesn't look like something that belongs in my hallway. It's not a bird, and too big to be a mouse, yet not a rat. Oh. Baby possum. I pick it up with paper towels and it moves. Not dead. I take it outside and it bites my hand. Stop that. I stick it through the chainlink fence into my neighbor's yard. As it goes through the fence, it grabs the fence with its rear foot. That's when I realized that they have opposable thumbs on their hands and feet. Very cool. Then it dropped into the groundcover and wandered off. Twice more that day I had to rescue a baby possum from one of my cats. One was running around the yard with a possum in its mouth. But none of them were harmed by the cats, which is sort of unusual since cats are pretty much hard-wired killers. A week or two later I spotted a half grown possum on a neighbor's steps, so at least one of the graduating class made it that far towards adulthood. Possums have a tough life and they're really pretty interesting creatures. Marsupials (sp?), like the kangaroo, bearing live young who then live in a pouch. The only Marsupials in North America. So when I read about folks that want to kill possums, I try to put in a good word for them. |
#43
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
"dgk" wrote in message ... On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 08:00:13 -0700, rbowman wrote: wrote: On Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:37:26 -0700, rbowman wrote: wrote: So, I'm looking for another method to get rid of this opossum. I'd like to do it as humanely as possible, but will do whatever I must, since it's already done a lot of damage by knocking things over and crapping on stuff. Any suggestions on what to use? Such as poison???? Baseball bat? Shovel? Hoe? It's only a damn possum. They look a lot more fierce than they are. I'd heard about possums and probably saw them in zoos but I never ran into one in the wild until I was working a contract in Fort Wayne. Sure enough, it hissed, drooled, and played dead when I wasn't impressed.by the threats. I put them right up there with blue heelers. God made the animal, looked at the results, and said "Let's try that one again." King snakes use the same tact. First they do a good impersonation of a ****ed off rattlesnake. If that doesn't seem to be working, they launch into the dead snake act. King snakes are a lot prettier than possums though. Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. Your backyard is 1 foot wide and 5 feet long? Ken |
#44
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 13:53:47 -0500, "Ken Olson"
wrote: "dgk" wrote in message .. . On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 08:00:13 -0700, rbowman wrote: wrote: On Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:37:26 -0700, rbowman wrote: wrote: So, I'm looking for another method to get rid of this opossum. I'd like to do it as humanely as possible, but will do whatever I must, since it's already done a lot of damage by knocking things over and crapping on stuff. Any suggestions on what to use? Such as poison???? Baseball bat? Shovel? Hoe? It's only a damn possum. They look a lot more fierce than they are. I'd heard about possums and probably saw them in zoos but I never ran into one in the wild until I was working a contract in Fort Wayne. Sure enough, it hissed, drooled, and played dead when I wasn't impressed.by the threats. I put them right up there with blue heelers. God made the animal, looked at the results, and said "Let's try that one again." King snakes use the same tact. First they do a good impersonation of a ****ed off rattlesnake. If that doesn't seem to be working, they launch into the dead snake act. King snakes are a lot prettier than possums though. Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. Your backyard is 1 foot wide and 5 feet long? Ken The 'possum only needs so much room to roam |
#45
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On 2/13/2015 9:38 AM, dgk wrote:
Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. I get a stick, lift up more evergreen, and whatever it is is lying on its side looking dead, and drooling. I panic a bit, fearing that it might have harmed Espy, but I find him elsewhere and rush him inside and then call Animal Control. Much to my surprise, Animal Control only deals with cats and dogs. Anything else has to be sick or wounded. Well, I tell the nice lady, I think it might be dying and it's drooling. Yes, she replies, it's playing possum. Oh. That's what it is. So she tells me to call an animal trapper and I do so. But he tells me that possums are fairly common in the backyards, and that they do more good than harm and tend to move on after a few days. For $50 he'll collect it and drop it in a rural area, but why don't I just let it be and see what happens. After all, he says, it eats all the grubs and insects that do actual harm. Well, I don't want it huting my cats, but he tells me that it's probably been back there with the cats for a few days, and they generally leave each other alone. So that's what I did. Nothing. After a few days it was gone. It had no problem climbing over the fence that kept my cats in. Of course, my cats really don't want to roam but the possum does. A year or two later, I'm working on the computer and see two of my cats sitting in the hallway looking down at something. Oh oh. Whatever it is doesn't look like something that belongs in my hallway. It's not a bird, and too big to be a mouse, yet not a rat. Oh. Baby possum. I pick it up with paper towels and it moves. Not dead. I take it outside and it bites my hand. Stop that. I stick it through the chainlink fence into my neighbor's yard. As it goes through the fence, it grabs the fence with its rear foot. That's when I realized that they have opposable thumbs on their hands and feet. Very cool. Then it dropped into the groundcover and wandered off. Twice more that day I had to rescue a baby possum from one of my cats. One was running around the yard with a possum in its mouth. But none of them were harmed by the cats, which is sort of unusual since cats are pretty much hard-wired killers. A week or two later I spotted a half grown possum on a neighbor's steps, so at least one of the graduating class made it that far towards adulthood. Possums have a tough life and they're really pretty interesting creatures. Marsupials (sp?), like the kangaroo, bearing live young who then live in a pouch. The only Marsupials in North America. So when I read about folks that want to kill possums, I try to put in a good word for them. I don't know about NYC but here in Delaware rabies is endemic and any one bitten by a wild animal or stray dog or cat is advised to tell the authorities. They will capture the animal and examine it but if the animal cannot be found the bitten person is advised to get the rabies vaccine. Happened to one of my wife's friends living in Pittsburgh who got scratched or bitten by a bat. A few years ago, a nearby nature center had a caged raccoon found to be rabid and people there had to be vaccinated. Several people in a local development were bitten by a rabid fox and also got vaccinated. Your cats should be vaccinated, particularly if you let them run outside. |
#46
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
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#47
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On 2/12/2015 4:42 AM, Punxsutawney Phil wrote:
On 02/11/2015 06:45 PM, wrote: It's Possum - not 'Opossum'. I am not a possum. Bow hunting near Punxsy I popped a couple of Phil's relatives. Taste like chicken. |
#48
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On 2/13/2015 1:53 PM, Ken Olson wrote:
"dgk" wrote in message Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. Your backyard is 1 foot wide and 5 feet long? Ken Looks like a foot six, and four foot two long. - .. Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .. www.lds.org .. .. |
#49
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
Frank wrote:
On 2/11/2015 8:45 PM, wrote: It's Possum - not 'Opossum'. Opossum is correct. Might also mention that opossum and raccoon are best when roasted. I think both are correct. |
#50
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:07:47 -0700, JAS
wrote: Frank wrote: On 2/11/2015 8:45 PM, wrote: It's Possum - not 'Opossum'. Opossum is correct. Might also mention that opossum and raccoon are best when roasted. I think both are correct. Judge Judy has a great reply when a plaintiff or defendant testify about what they think -- "I don't care what you think." |
#51
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:38:16 -0500, Frank
wrote: On 2/11/2015 8:45 PM, wrote: It's Possum - not 'Opossum'. Opossum is correct. So is 'possum. Might also mention that opossum and raccoon are best when roasted. Stuff with two potatoes wrapped in foil. Eat the tatters and throw the animal out the back door for the dogs to enjoy. Same with Amarillo. |
#52
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
dgk wrote:
Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. There are possums in NYC? I grew up around Troy and they were just something you read about or might see in a zoo. Well, there's everything else in the city, might as well have possums too. Are the armadillos there yet? |
#53
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
Gordon Shumway wrote:
On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:07:47 -0700, JAS wrote: Frank wrote: On 2/11/2015 8:45 PM, wrote: It's Possum - not 'Opossum'. Opossum is correct. Might also mention that opossum and raccoon are best when roasted. I think both are correct. Judge Judy has a great reply when a plaintiff or defendant testify about what they think -- "I don't care what you think." ditto |
#54
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 20:15:04 -0700, rbowman
wrote: dgk wrote: Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. There are possums in NYC? I grew up around Troy and they were just something you read about or might see in a zoo. Well, there's everything else in the city, might as well have possums too. Are the armadillos there yet? Growing up here in central Ontario we never saw 'possum, but apparently they hitch-hiked up on trucks crossing the border - they hang on with their 4 paws and their prehensile tails - more with the tails in fact- and drop off on the road. They don't over-winter well so they have not become terribly numerous -commonest place to find them is dead on the road just down-road from a bump. My brother has prodded quite a few off the undercarriage of his semi over the years. (used to do a lot of transcontinental runs - texas, georgia, Florida, Cali, etc to all over Canada. |
#55
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
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#56
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message ... On 2/13/2015 1:53 PM, Ken Olson wrote: "dgk" wrote in message Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. Your backyard is 1 foot wide and 5 feet long? Ken Looks like a foot six, and four foot two long. Good catch, too tired when I saw it to do simple math. But still damn small. Ken |
#57
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
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#58
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:45:38 -0500, Stormin Mormon
wrote: On 2/13/2015 1:53 PM, Ken Olson wrote: "dgk" wrote in message Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. Your backyard is 1 foot wide and 5 feet long? Ken Looks like a foot six, and four foot two long. - . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus . www.lds.org . . I had around 15 2x4s, around 12 feet long, in the garage. I'm going to be moving in a few months so I put them out in front of the house the day before garbage pickup, and they all were gone a few hours later. That's the best way to recycle. In my neighborhood, if someone doesn't take whatever you put out, it really was crap. |
#59
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:45:38 -0500, Stormin Mormon
wrote: On 2/13/2015 1:53 PM, Ken Olson wrote: "dgk" wrote in message Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. Your backyard is 1 foot wide and 5 feet long? Looks like a foot six, and four foot two long. Yet another house built for Nippo-Americans. Lots of space too, for the children to play in. If it gets too overgrown, might I suggest fingernail cutters ? []'s -- Don't be evil - Google 2004 We have a new policy - Google 2012 |
#60
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Tue, 17 Feb 2015 08:47:57 -0500, dgk wrote:
I had around 15 2x4s, around 12 feet long, in the garage. I'm going to be moving in a few months so I put them out in front of the house the day before garbage pickup, and they all were gone a few hours later. That's the best way to recycle. In my neighborhood, if someone doesn't take whatever you put out, it really was crap. I liked that about NY too. LIved in an apartment so I didn't put trash out, but I took plenty in. One day I needed a yardstick and planned to buy one next time I was near a hardware store. Within an hour I found nice heavy wood one on a garbage can. I still have it. Another time I was bicycle riding around Riis Park, the end of Flatbush Avenue. When I got back to King's Highway, I left the big streets and took small ones. Found a 9" TV on top of a garbage can. All I had was the little "luggage rack" they put on 10-speed bicycles. This one had a U piece that was spring-loaded, but still not enough. While I was looking at t he TV, the lady of the house came out with rope so I could tie the TV to my bike, and that way I got all the way back to Clinton Hill (just south of the Brooklyn Navy Yard) She told me she thought it was just a tube, but -- and this was the only tv I've ever dealt with like this - it was just a fuse, even easier. A couple years later, I was in the hospital to remove a bony growth on my arm, and I called the TV guy to rent a TV. He came up and said "You already have one." but it was faicing the guy on the other side of the room, away from me. The nice guy said I could come over any time I wanted and watch tv with him. ;-) So since I had to move my car to the other side of the street anyhow, I went home, got the little TV and a pair of pajamas and came back to the hospital. I still have it, but haven't been using it. |
#61
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.rural
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 09:38:15 -0500, dgk wrote:
Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. Whereabouts in NYC do you live? If you give the address I'll drop by, but if you give only the gneneral area, my curiosity will be satisfied. |
#62
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 8:48:02 AM UTC-5, dgk wrote:
On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:45:38 -0500, Stormin Mormon wrote: On 2/13/2015 1:53 PM, Ken Olson wrote: "dgk" wrote in message Ok, here's my possum story. Two actually. I live in NYC and have a small backyard, 18" by 50" which tends to get very overgrown by August. I have it fenced in, with fencing curving in at the top, so I can let my cats roam around without them getting out. One August I'm trying to find Espy, a cat with a mostly white face and a pink nose. I pick up a bit of an evergreen so I can look under it, and there is a whitish face with pink nose, but the nose is way too long. Yikes. Your backyard is 1 foot wide and 5 feet long? Ken Looks like a foot six, and four foot two long. - . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus . www.lds.org . . I had around 15 2x4s, around 12 feet long, in the garage. I'm going to be moving in a few months so I put them out in front of the house the day before garbage pickup, and they all were gone a few hours later. That's the best way to recycle. In my neighborhood, if someone doesn't take whatever you put out, it really was crap. When we finally got a flat screen I put the old tube tv out on the curb. Next morning there were two more with it. I kid you not. Drove around the neighborhood, found somebody else with a tv, dumped all three by his curb when nobody was around. |
#63
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I have an Opossum in storage building (to get rid of)!
On Tue, 17 Feb 2015 11:40:05 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote: I had around 15 2x4s, around 12 feet long, in the garage. I'm going to be moving in a few months so I put them out in front of the house the day before garbage pickup, and they all were gone a few hours later. That's the best way to recycle. In my neighborhood, if someone doesn't take whatever you put out, it really was crap. When we finally got a flat screen I put the old tube tv out on the curb. Next morning there were two more with it. I kid you not. Drove around the neighborhood, found somebody else with a tv, dumped all three by his curb when nobody was around. LOL |
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