Meet Didelphus Virginianis
or the Virginia Opossum.
(Click, as Eli’s son says, to Embiggen.)
We left the garage door open sunday evening later than normal, (we tend to keep it closed- a lot of tools, you understand) and we got a visitor. he manifested himself early monday, not by his presence but his actions- we found stiff from shelves knocked all over the garage floor.
I thought maybe we had a raccoon, but I should have known it was a ‘possum, coons are much more energetic animals. Anyway, I borrowed a live trap and with the help of a healthy dollop of peanut butter, had him out of the garage first thing in the AM.
Let him loose in the backyard, the daughter was impressed at the speed at which he took off up a tree.
I won’t eat a possum- or, for that matter, a raccoon, but I don’t wish any harm of the critters. And I won’t shoot ’em unless they’re damaging something. He’s free now, and I’m happy for him, mostly happy to have him out of my basement.
Prolix warning:
We got one of those living up in the seat of the molded shower in the master bath when we first moved south into possum territory. Scared the daylights out of the wife hearing something LARGE rattling around in there at night.
So she sends the intrepid (but none too bright) Weetabix into the crawl space to find it. Not knowing yet what it was, I armed myself with a length of pipe, a Kabar, a laundry basket and a towel and crawled into the stygian nether areas of the house.
As I crawled toward the plumbed area in question, I heard a scritching to my left, looked up, and saw in the recess between floor joists and sill plate the slavering glare of death awaiting me with nasty big pointed teeth.
Floor joists do not yeild to startled heads.
After rubbing the noggin a bit, I chivvied him into the basket with the pipe and covered him with the towel at which point he became excited. I got excited, and we parted ways.
I eventually trapped him with a live trap – he was a dopey possum, and it took him several attempts to figure out how to use it correctly. I dumped him in the country.
Since having learned their ways better, I now just kick them really hard (they sound like a football) or hit them with a stick then carry them by the tail while they pretend to be dead.
Some competition in the home-hunting game?
I have done the grand slam of capturing critters intent on home invasion. They include
ruffed grouse (flew through a window)
an owl (caught in the hen house)
a hummingbird (caught in the garage)
a mallard (don’t ask me how he got stuck in the chimney)
a gopher..and I don’t know how he got in the house.
All the perps were released unhurt but with stern warnings never to return.
Except for the gopher, the dogs got him.
I actually missed your text and just saw the picture.
I didn’t kill mine for the same reasons. I couldn’t call it a capital crime that he wanted to live in the house. Hell, I kind of liked that house, too.
I wanted him pretty far away, though, so he didn’t reestablish his residence.
Rusty reminds me that we had a pigeon in our basement once. It came down the chimney and through the furnace vent or something. It lived there for a week, eating cat food, evading us & the cats, and pooping on stuff before we finally ushered it out. I kind of figured the cats would get it, but they never did.
Last summer I was live-trapping chipmunks around the house. One morning I come out to see the fat backside of a ‘possum and his hairless tail sticking out of the trap. I carefully shook him out. He then stared at me for a few moments with a look of irritation combined with embarrassed mortification and then ambled off.
I just discovered that a opossum has been eating my cats’ food out in the barn. I may have to get a live trap.
Never seen one. I only kill animals who come into my yard with intentions of doing me harm. Like rabid skunks. Got a cool picture of a fox at a den on the ranch this spring. I g=figure they all need each other to prey on and eco exsist. ‘Side, I got all the beef I can eat. And it is damn good. :)
“a look of irritation combined with embarrassed mortification” one of the best lines I have ever read! LOL
They’re a lot of fun when you slip one into a co-worker’s pickup truck…
MC