An opossum is a relatively large animal (such as a domestic cat). It is a part of the marsupial family. Many people tend to confuse them with rodents, like the giant rat, because of their appearance. Actually, the case is that they are not that. This marsupial animal is quite common in the American continent. The havoc of this animal is evidently seen in this geographical location. In this section, we present some ways of trapping opossums.
Use of traps
The opossums are big animals and catching them with any trap is not so simple. You must make sure that the cage you use as a trap is large and strong enough. This will prevent the animal from escaping once it enters the trap. It is preferable to use some steel cage with grids. Use the size of a big cat to determine the size of the cage. It is important that you choose the best place to place the trap. This is why you should be attentive to the opossum's favorite places or the places it frequently visits. This will give you more efficiency when catching it.
You can use food
To increase the percentage of success in trapping opossum, some things can be introduced in the cage. Some foods that these animals enjoy a lot can be placed in the case. This will entice the animal and it will fall for the trap. Opossums are omnivorous animals. Hence, they can eat almost anything, from fruits and insects to carrion. This will allow you to place a big variety of food in the cage, but to not attract other animals you can use bananas, sweet bread, cookies and apple, amongst others.
They are nocturnal animals
These animals are characterized by going out at night. That is why you should place the trap preferably at night. This will avoid having inconveniences catching other animals that perform their activities in the day. It is important that the trap is not forgotten, and checked every morning. This is because if the animal is trapped, then there is a possibility for it to spend a lot of time stuck in the cage. If this happens then it will suffer and agonize until his death, you do not want that to happen.
Once captured
Many will wonder what they can do with the animal after having captured it. Well, you must make sure that you have protected yourself well. Avoid having direct contact with the animal since they have bacteria that could be dangerous. In addition, you should wear resistant gloves always. This animal sometimes can bite if it is stressed, hungry or scared.
You should also keep this in mind
If you transport the animal in a car, you should put it in the trunk of the car. Make sure it has ventilation. Place a plastic bag under the cage and cover it with absorbent paper. With this way, it will not dirty the car. You can place a dull mesh on the cage, as this prevents the opossum from becoming stressed.
Where to leave the opossum?
You really have many options with regard to where to leave the opossum. One of these option is to take it to a sparsely populated area and away from urban areas. This is done so that the opossum will not disturb people anymore. But the problem with this option is that the animal usually returns to the populated area. But at least, the animal is far away from our home. Make sure that the place where you leave it has enough vegetation, a forest or a large national park nearby, would be fine. Be careful when letting the animal out of the cage. Do not take it directly with your hands, as we said before. It can bite. It is better to place the cage on the floor, open the cage and move quickly to a safe distance to avoid contacts with the opossum. If you do not know what to do with the animal do not worry so much. You can go to an animal reservoir or the competent agencies of your state in charge of wildlife.
Animal control
If you did not manage to catch the opossum yourself or you just do not want to do it yourself, you can call animal control. They are usually in each state and municipality. There is an agency in charge of dealing with these types of animals if they become a serious problem. By contacting them, they will send someone who will have all the necessary equipment to take care of the opossum properly. in addition, these people have training and experience, and they will transfer the animal to some suitable place so that it does not cause more damage to people.
Go back to the
How to Kill Opossums page.
