You Can't Shoot A Possum In Your Own Garage!

The possum in my garage was staring up at me as if I was the intruder

, not him. It had torn open a bag of dry cat food and had scattered it over the garage floor and into my cat's water dish.

This particular possum had come in through the pet door into the garage and was happily eating leftovers from my cat Spike's dinner bowl. He obviously had no fear of me because he kept eating as I walked over to the work bench. Even though possums rarely get rabies, I was trying to keep a little distance between me and him; images of sharp teeth and rabies shots flashed through my brain.

Spike's garage area was being invaded again by a possum that continued to grow fatter by eating my cat's food.

Now the possum scooted through the door to the outside, then turned around and stuck his head back through the door, staring at me as if he was belligerent about me interrupting his dinner.

Spike has become accustomed to seeing raccoons as well as possums enter his garage at all hours of the night. Tonight he was sleeping in his bed on top of the garage refrigerator. He was now peering over the side of the cardboard box that was his bed, at the possum that was making a mess of his eating area.

The real name of this critter is opossum. But down here in the south we just call it a possum. They are really, really fond of cat food, but will eat almost anything; rodents, insects, frogs, road kill, grains and fruits. Possums are rather lazy, so if there is available food in a garbage can or cat food in a garage they will find it.

While their appetites knows no bounds, they are cowards and will rarely attack any animal bigger than them or any animal that might fight back, including cats. Chances are though, it will just find a cluttered corner of your garage and "play possum."

There are humane ways of possum removal. A 12 gauge shotgun is no longer appropriate for getting rid of possums; especially since I now live in the city. Such an action now would surely lead to spending a night in jail.

City growth is slowly taking over the wild animal's habitat, making the aroma of a trash can irresistible to critters who want a free lunch.City dwellers like me are finding that what once were considered to be wild animals are gradually becoming less and less afraid of humans.

More and more they are associating man with free food. Possum removal or raccoon removal might appear to be a simple thing, but the lure of food is stronger than many animal deterrents.

If possums have found a way into your garage or attic and will not leave, blaring music from a radio is supposed to scare them away. The same goes for very bright lights shining continually, which should make both possums and raccoons, think that it is day time and leave the premises. This never worked for me.

Feed stores carry a variety of possum deterrents and some of them migh even work. They are mostly made from urine of natural predators of the animals you're trying to remove. The fox is a natural predator of the possum, so sprinkling a little around your house could be rewarding.

by: Bob Alexander

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