Opossum or possums as some may choose to call them, are regarded as nuisance animals in the United States and as such, there is a need to have opossum control services that help to put their population and the extent of their nuisance in check. The method that is chosen to achieve this will depend largely on the existing regulations in your locale and also on the extent of the opossum infestation in your home. There are several methods that can be opted for from trapping to shooting and poisoning. In this article, we shall weigh these options and see which one is best to use where and when.
Opossums are quite a norm in the southern parts of the United States, but with recent changes in the climatic conditions, they have decided to migrate to northern parts of the United States in large numbers. This means that you may happen to see opossums in the most unlikely of places, but this should not make you have an unsettled mind. Opossums are easy to get rid of and it will only require that you are calm in your approach to it. At the same time, having some background knowledge on the behavior of opossums helps to deal with them more effectively and that is the very reason as to why I am here to inform you more about these marsupials. One thing you need to know about the behavior of opossums before embarking opossum control is their tendency to play dead. This is an involuntary action that is executed by their bodies as a way of protecting them from their predators any other possible threat. In this regard, an opossum will not exhibit any motion for some time and you may believe that it is dead. This furthermore enhanced by their secretion of a body fluid that makes them have the smell of a dead organism and thus act as a turn off to predators that may want to hunt them down and feed on them.
Trapping has been chosen by many homeowners and opossum control experts in handling possum situations. The reason for this is that the traps are easy to operate and are fairly effective in the long run in controlling the population of opossum in an area provided that it is not a full-blown infestation problem. The selection of traps is wide and you will need to consult with an expert before purchasing one. Another alternative, in the absence of an opossum expert, is undertaking to study the usage and effectiveness of different types of traps in controlling the different species of opossums. The downside of this is that you will also need to invest time in reading the existing animal control regulations that are in effect in your locale. The reason for this is so that you may know which is the most humane way of handing opossums and in case there are any restrictions on the use of some types of traps. Reading through the regulations also enables you to know how best to treat an opossum once it has been captured in order to avoid injuries when the animal has been agitated.
Kill traps are a type of opossum control traps that are solely designed to kill the opossums once they come into contact with the trap. This is achieved by either strangling or hitting the opossum hard on the head with a blunt object. The traps are designed in such a way that all this occurs in an automatic and flawless manner that does not require any form of supervision to be conducted. The downside of using these traps is that they may kill other animals other than the opossum that was intended. You will thus need to regularly check the trap in case it has caught a different animal. This should also be done to release the dead animal’s body for disposing in order to prevent the development of carcasses on your property. Having such may encourage the development of other nuisance animal problems such as insects, vultures, and hawks. The trap needs to be set up in an area where the opossum has been noted to make regular roams around in order for it to be effective in capturing the targeted opossum.
Leghold traps work by capturing the opossums by the leg and holding them in that position until the trapper comes to release it. These traps are most effective when the population of opossums is low. Otherwise, one will need to set up several leghold traps in order to effectively deal with the opossums in the long run. This is quite tiresome without mentioning that it is very costly. Just like killer traps, leg hold traps also need to be inspected frequently to release the animals that have been caught. These ones to have the downside of capturing unwanted animals, some of which may really not be posing a threat such as pet dogs and cats. Another type of trap that works in the same way as the leg hold traps are the cage traps. These ones do not kill the opossum, but just hold them for a period of time before the trapper can decide on what is the next best course of action in handling the opossums. In both cases when dealing with these traps, you need to keep a safe distance from the opossum once it has been caught. This is because it may be agitated and thus causing injuries through biting while it is being released from the trap. Remember to always feed the opossum once it has been captured, this is demanded by the animal department as a humane way of handling animals in captivity.
Opossum control is an achievable fete if the right method of controlling the said marsupials is implemented. However, the best and most effective method of controlling opossums is always the prevention of their access to your property. This is recommended by all the top opossum removal experts.