PB4UGO: October is for O'Possums

Friday, October 7, 2022

October is for O'Possums

Today is (my #4 child) Benjamin's birthday! It's a few days past the Taylor family reunion, and my sweet mom Rose's birthday
Rose was admitted to the ICU through the ER yesterday. They are moving her to a regular room today, or letting her go home. Her BP meds aren't doing what they ought to for her. So the medical personnel are trying to stabilize her BP before allowing her to go home.
I am wanting to rush down there... but we are waiting to see if I should.
Meanwhile... cleaning the house and washing the clothes and pacing the floor!

We have had a literal invasion of Opossums into our house. Mr C was hearing a scritch-scratching coming from the walls that separate our bedroom from the bathroom. He removed the pipe access panel, and set rodent traps under the (enclosed) bathtub. The access panel was left off, to remind him to CHECK the rodent traps.
No rodents have been caught, despite repeatedly baiting the traps.

Dante, Daniel's collie, has been very excited about SOMETHING in various places around the house. Our first glimpse of that something was in the room addition, near the stored dog food can. It was a wee little possum! Big enough to not need mama... but pretty small. Sam tossed a shirt over it, and it calmed right down. He picked it up and relocated it away from the house.

After trying to figure out HOW the little thing got into the house... I realized it was probably through the pipe access panel, which has been off for several days.

The next morning, Dante is trying to get his big fluffy self under my bed. He's determined! Not being a dog... I looked off the opposite side of the bed.
There was a baby possum cowering in the corner. I summoned Sam... who relocated this baby farther away from the house. Holes burrowed under the house were stopped up with big rocks. I put a couple of live traps, baited with sardines, under the house.

The next morning... third day of the invasion, Mama Opossum had taken the bait. She's not huge. I relocated her a mile and a half from the house, in a woody area. The live traps were re-baited.

This morning... Dante cornered another baby inside the house! Four possums in four days... three of them babies INSIDE my house! This little one was also relocated. There isn't anything in the live traps this morning.

We have nothing at all against Ugly Kitties. They are perfectly welcome to hang around OUTSIDE and eat bugs, or even join the kitties in chomping on kitty kibble... OUTSIDE!
These who have figured out how to get INSIDE have to leave.

The holes into the house will be stopped up. We just want to be sure ALL the critters are OUT before we close off the water access again.