http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025684240Opossums are nature's garbage disposal in my part of the country. They are also rather docile and harmless, unless you're stupid.
When I get one stuck on my screened in back porch, I can usually just pick them up (gloved) by the tail and dispose of them, or swoosh them away with a broom.
Sat Oct 18, 2014, 12:32 PM
Star Member Omaha Steve (43,215 posts)
10 Reasons to Love Opossums
[snipped for purposes of brevity]
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-reasons-to-love-opossums.html#ixzz3GVxW6Aeu
Of course, Steve himself has nothing to say about the article. He just lights a campfire, and expects the other primitves to tend to it. Since Steve is now making posts from his deathbed, maybe I will cut him a break this time.
Sat Oct 18, 2014, 12:38 PM
Ino (1,653 posts)
2. Their normal lifespan is only about 3 years
I was surprised to learn that. Unfortunately, they all seem to come to my yard to die.
I like opossums. Found a little one trucking down the sidewalk during a rainstorm in the middle of the day. Something was wrong with its eye. He sat on my desk grooming himself, just as friendly as could be. I took him to wildlife rescue.
Sat Oct 18, 2014, 12:55 PM
Star Member Feral Child (1,320 posts)
4. Fascinating creatures!
They love peanuts.
Sat Oct 18, 2014, 01:03 PM
TwilightGardener (43,550 posts)
5. I love possums--used to have some visit my backyard in Nebraska.
Sat Oct 18, 2014, 01:12 PM
JaneyVee (8,469 posts)
7. I find them terrifying.
I'll never forget my first encounter with one. I ran out of an alleyway screaming at night when I was 14 and my friends thought I was being murdered. They asked what happened and I could only mutter "its eyes were glowing red and it had a pig snout, it was a devil beast!". Now that I'm 32 I can tolerate them a bit more but they still creep me out.
Sat Oct 18, 2014, 01:32 PM
Star Member valerief (42,153 posts)
13. They're not aggressive (unless you try to handle them) and don't carry disease thanks
to their low body temp. Plus, they never hang around a place too long and eat any dead shit there before they leave. What's to hate?
One slammed up hard against my house one night. Guess it was going after a mouse or snake or some other animal. Scared the crap out of me. I went outside with an LED flashlight and saw its eyes a few feet away. It didn't lunge, didn't move. I just went inside, happy it was an opossum and not some lunatic human.
This primitive was happy to see it was an opossum trying to gain entrance to s/he/it's home, rather than a fellow primitive.
Sat Oct 18, 2014, 01:24 PM
Star Member MineralMan (67,776 posts)
8. They're pretty inoffensive, overall.
If you approach a wild one, it will probably open its mouth, show its very many teeth and hiss loudly at you. Be not afraid. Just stand your ground. It won't attack you. Instead, it will figure out that the hissing didn't get the job done and stop doing that. It will then turn around and start walking away from you. If you follow, it may try the hissing trick again, but it may not. In any case, you can follow the critter from a few feet away and see what it does.
If you have them in your yard as regular visitors, they enjoy cheap dry cat food very much. They also like peanuts in the shell. Don't give them the salted ones, though. Either raw or roasted without salt. They'll tend to show up at the same time each day, usually in the evening. You can get a chair and sit near their food. They'll come anyhow, and you'll get to watch them.
If you've a mind to, you can easily get them to take a peanut in the shell from your hand. It never takes long. They're not really smart enough to be afraid for long. Once they're taking peanuts from your hand, it's a simple step to scritch them between the ears. The first time you do it, the opossum might startle after a short delay, but just a little. Soon, though, it won't mind being scritched.
Opossums are very, very unlikely to bite you. They just don't do that, as a rule. If you're gentle around them, they'll quickly get used to you and won't see you as any kind of threat. They're also not bad with pets. My kitties in California used to walk right up to them and sniff noses with them. Dogs, though, seem to want to bark like crazy at them, so they're not really compatible.
If you're not comfortable near wild animals, ignore what I wrote above and just watch them through your window. As my wife says, "Do not do what that man is doing."
Here's hoping the Aerows primitive takes MM's advice to heart, and attempts to "scritch" a wild animal on the head.
Sat Oct 18, 2014, 02:20 PM
CaptainTruth (268 posts)
24. Used to see them all the time in N CA.
I set up a "critter cam," motion-activated light & video recorder, with a bowl of dry cat food. In a typical night multiple opossums, racoons, & skunks would eat from it, a couple cats too.
The only bad thing about opossums (IMHO) is that they go to the bathroom where they sleep. One got into a cabinet in my workshop once & made a comfy nest in some old rags ... & after a short while MAN did it stink! I got the little critter out (in a bucket) & released him in a wildlife preserve, & had to scrub the cabinet out with bleach & air out the workshop.
Sat Oct 18, 2014, 02:45 PM
Star Member hfojvt (34,966 posts)
30. baby mice ride on their mom's back too
I have seen that and normally I would have tried to whack mom for being in my mobile home, but I could not bear to squash those little babies.
"I'd rather live with an infestation than take care of business".
