How to Catch an Opossum



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Most people know the opossum as a possum but what they do not know is that there are over 103 species of them within 19 genres. Possums can survive and colonize in a variety of diverse conditions and they have a diet that is pretty flexible. Not to mention, their reproductive strategy is quite amazing. These animals keep to themselves and will spend all of their time in an area where food and water is easily accessible. They prefer to live in dark areas that are secure. So, do not be surprised if you find them hiding in burrows dug up in your yard. Female opossums often give birth to a large number of young; but they may only live for 2-4 years depending on the species. The smallest opossum can be the size of a small mouse while the largest one can be as large as a big fully grown housecat. When these marsupials feel threatened in any way, they will play dead or what we call possum. Some possums even growl. While opossum help keep the environment clean can become a problem around your property and you may be wondering what you can do to trap them.

Live Traps
The easiest, most convenient and humane way to catch a possum is by positioning a trap in the area where their presence is the most frequent. This may be in an attic, under your porch, your home’s crawl space or even in areas where other animals may feed. Opossums are very much attracted to the food that is left behind by other animals and may stay close to those areas. The next step is to bait the trap with food near the entrance of the trap. Be sure to also put bait in the back area of the trap so that opossum walks all the way into the trap. Once the opossum enters the trap, the door will be triggered and close completely behind the animal. You can then release the opossum into the wild or call the animal control authorities to remove the opossum from your property. Read more about What Bait To Use For Opossum Traps here.

Caught an opossum? Learn how to relocate your opossum safely.

Kill Traps
While it is not necessary to kill a possum to trap and get rid of it, some people resort to them anyway. These traps are designed to kill the possum quickly and in the most humane way. These traps are set the same way as the live traps but they can be dangerous to animals that are not targeted when the trap is baited. Also, over time these traps begin to wear down and will not kill the possum humanely. These traps might be easy to set but if they are set incorrectly, they can be even more dangerous.

By Hand
When you catch a possum by hand, you must be careful. This is not the smartest way to catch a possum but there are a lot of people who might try it this way. In order to perform this task, you will need a pair of thick leather gloves to catch it with. Once you spot the possum, you can creep up behind it and wave your hand in front of its face to distract it. When you have gotten its attention, grab its tail and lift it up away from your body. Holding the possum by the tail will not hurt them at all considering they hang by their tails when they are in the wild. This means that their tails are pretty strong. While possums are not considered the aggressive type, if they feel threatened, they will sometimes try to defend themselves if they are not playing dead.

Find out whether or not it's a good idea to Pet an Opossum .



Professionals
When you want to catch an opossum, this may be a task that you would want to leave up to a professional who actually knows what he/she is doing. A professional can come in trap your opossum and remove it from your property with very little effort, time and without hurting the opossum. Once the possum has been removed, you can finally have your property back.

As you can see, there are several ways to catch a possum but you should always consider ways that are humane. There is no need to harm an animal to get it out of your yard. With the right tools and professional, you can remove a possum quickly.

Read here some pros and cons on whether you should Hire a Pro or Remove Opossums Yourself.

More in-detail how-to possum removal articles:


Information about opossum trapping - analysis and methods for how to trap.
Information about how to kill a opossum - with poison or other methods.
Information about how to keep opossums away - prevention techniques.
Information about opossum repellent - analysis of types and effectiveness.

I can show you what kind of Damage Opossums Cause, and let you know if opossums climb or live in trees, and if they attack cats, dogs or other pets.

This site is intended to provide information about how to catch a possum, so that you can make an informed decision if you need to deal with a opossum problem. This site provides many opossum control articles and strategies, if you wish to attempt to solve the problem yourself. If you are unable to do so, which is likely with many cases of opossum removal, please go to the home page and click the USA map, where I have wildlife removal experts listed in over 500 cites and towns, who can properly help you with your nuisance opossum.

Click here to read more about how to get rid of opossums.

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