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Joined: Sep 2014
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,596 Likes: 28 |
I have possums that regularly come up on my porch to eat any catfood my outside cat does not eat. My cat will set right next to him and watch him eat. I have read possums and cats get along just fine. My question is what are pros and cons of having possums around? Someone said they eat ticks and I also read they cannot contract rabies? I try to remember to pick up my cats food bowl at night and bring it in the house but I don't always remember.
Dear Alcohol, We had a deal where you would make me funnier, smarter, and a better dancer... I saw the video... We need to talk.
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668 Likes: 57
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668 Likes: 57 |
Awhile back I had one eating the fish food out of the bag that was in the back of my side by side. I walked up one morning and it played dead in the back of the side by side. So, I hauled it off a mile or so away as it layed there. Dumped it out and within a day it was back.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Tracy
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714 Likes: 281
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714 Likes: 281 |
I would avoid attracting them with food, but otherwise leave them alone since they eat ticks. They can become a nuisance by getting into thinks and making nests where you don't want them. They also have sharp teeth and smell bad.
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,952 Likes: 184
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,952 Likes: 184 |
I don’t mind them around til they get into the garden and put the hurt on the tomatoes..... even put an electric fence around it
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Joined: Dec 2018
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Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 884 Likes: 201 |
I'm with Pat. ^^ I think Id rather have the ticks. take a bite out of every tomato, I wouldnt mind them eating one if they hungry but have a hard time tolerating them ruining every tomato. they cleaned out my grape arbor in one night several years in a row before I wised up and was ready for them the next year.
All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,952 Likes: 184
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,952 Likes: 184 |
Ge I don’t want the ticks either but I just try to keep those poor possums out of the garden , other than that I have no problem with them doing what they do. Coons are another big problem
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Joined: Nov 2016
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Joined: Nov 2016
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They also eat all venomous snakes. They are immune to the venom.
Not only do they eat ticks but other animals, such as deer, will allow possums to clean them of ticks.
Down here in SE Texas we have lots of ticks, probably because we have so many deer. I pick them off daily.
4 acre pond 32 ft deep within East Texas (Livingston) timber ranch. Filled (to the top of an almost finished dam) by Hurricane Harvey 9/17. Stocked with FHM, CNBG, RES 10/17. Added 35lbs RSC 3/18. 400 N LMB fingerlings 6/18
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Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028 Likes: 274 |
I used to be butt deep in ticks. Then we had a 4 year drought that eliminated them and chiggers.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,125 Likes: 273
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Joined: Oct 2018
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I like having possums around. They'll make a mess of your tomato patch, but in general they don't cause much trouble. They're known to eat a lot of ticks, and they help the vultures clean up dead critters.
My dog loves to play with them. There's been a big male possum coming around about once a week since January. The dog catches him, then she wallers the dickens out of him and drops him on the porch by the front door. He must not mind it terribly, or maybe he's in training for possum MMA, because he keeps coming back for more.
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Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Oct 2003
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Gotta love the critters. Constant search for food. I thought I was planting enough for them and me too but discovered it doesn't work that way. They eat everything before anything is ripe and if there is a surplus, they just make more critters.
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