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Post by tonyroma on Apr 12, 2024 18:03:24 GMT -5
Mind you he never calls me unless something is bad.
Dad- What’s up?
Son- Dude, the dogs just mauled an opossum.
Dad- Is it dead?
Son- Oh ya, Bea “the pit bull” just shook it by the neck, it’s just sitting on the ground with its eyes open.
Dad- where are the dogs?
Son- I got them in the house.
Dad- You sure it’s not playing dead?
Son- No way it’s playing dead, there is blood all over and it’s not moving.
Dad- OK, just throw it in the back of the truck and I’ll dump it when I get home.
Son- OK
So I just got home and the opossum was climbing down the hood of my truck.
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Post by cadman on Apr 12, 2024 18:22:46 GMT -5
Mine had one in her mouth one day. Told her to drop it and just lay there dead. Put the dog inside went back and it was gone.
They do play possum with dedication.
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Post by mackeralsnatcher on Apr 12, 2024 18:35:26 GMT -5
Should of told him to go put a bullet in it just to make sure.
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Post by illinoisfisherman on Apr 12, 2024 18:42:23 GMT -5
I love possums running around the neighborhood.
They love to eat rats.
The whole area has a rat problem due to a factory called “Corn Products”. (Argo Starch)
Im talking about an area of about 20 square miles. It’s amazing how they spread.
None around my house thanks to a family of possums that I welcomed under my sheds.
Oh yeah and they eat 100’s of ticks weekly. Hundreds.
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Post by PolarsStepdad on Apr 12, 2024 19:26:00 GMT -5
My daughters jack Russell decimated a mamma possum and her babies before I could get to her. She's a fierce little bitch
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Post by gardawg on Apr 12, 2024 19:30:04 GMT -5
I love possums running around the neighborhood. They love to eat rats. The whole area has a rat problem due to a factory called “Corn Products”. (Argo Starch) Im talking about an area of about 20 square miles. It’s amazing how they spread. None around my house thanks to a family of possums that I welcomed under my sheds. Oh yeah and they eat 100’s of ticks weekly. Hundreds. Pogo was a cool possum ...  |
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Post by ferris1248 on Apr 13, 2024 8:11:54 GMT -5
I didn't know this.
"opossums are one of the top predators for ticks and kill more than 90 percent of the ticks they encounter. Not only are opossums really good at removing ticks, they can also eat up to 5,000 ticks per season."
"opossums will catch and eat cockroaches, mice and rats on their nightly prowls. Their appetite for slugs, snails, toads and even snakes helps to keep most gardens pest-free."
Thanks Ken.
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Post by bullfrog on Apr 13, 2024 14:00:28 GMT -5
I didn't know this. "opossums are one of the top predators for ticks and kill more than 90 percent of the ticks they encounter. Not only are opossums really good at removing ticks, they can also eat up to 5,000 ticks per season." "opossums will catch and eat cockroaches, mice and rats on their nightly prowls. Their appetite for slugs, snails, toads and even snakes helps to keep most gardens pest-free." Thanks Ken. I don’t know about the other animals they might be good at eating, but the tick thing is an often repeated Facebook meme that was started by animal rights groups to discourage people from killing possums and is generally false. outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/articles/debunking-the-myth-opossums-dont-eat-ticksI once found a “dead” possum behind a chicken coop. My hound had it bayed and I presumed she killed it. The bulldog was with me and was content to just smell the possum and satisfied it was dead, he never attacked the possum. I went inside and it hit me the possum was probably faking its death. Sure enough, when I got back to it. It was in the process of flipping itself over. I went ahead and killed it. I’m not sure why the trick works on other animals. Surely a canine that is smelling the possum should be able to sense signs of life the possum can’t control. |
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hebegb
Junior Member
Posts: 66
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Post by hebegb on Apr 13, 2024 14:39:36 GMT -5
If they eat rats I want them!!
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Post by illinoisfisherman on Apr 13, 2024 14:46:57 GMT -5
They eat rats by the dozen. My neighbor has chickens and we were overrun with rats until the possums moved in. Haven’t seen a rat around the property in years now.
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Post by illinoisfisherman on Apr 13, 2024 14:49:40 GMT -5
I would bring more around the house if I could find them. My friend trapped an albino possum recently but before I could get it from him he released it by a creek.
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Post by gardawg on Apr 13, 2024 16:28:13 GMT -5
I do recall that possums loved it when our persimmon trees had ripe fruit.
Those persimmons were mighty good ...
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Post by garycoleco on Apr 13, 2024 16:32:50 GMT -5
Only on Facebook do opossums eat ticks. Bats don't really eat mosquitoes either.
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Post by 4ward on Apr 13, 2024 17:06:15 GMT -5
Armadillos > Possums
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Post by illinoisfisherman on Apr 13, 2024 17:26:19 GMT -5
Man I just don’t know what to believe. For years I’ve been told that possums are tick eating machines
I checked online. One article says they are, the next says they aren’t, the third says yes but not as many as once thought.
I know they eat rats and are immune to rabies.
We have a family of possums around. We have no rats or ticks anywhere near our house.
Who knows what is true. However I am still going to welcome them
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