What Are Some Ways To Humanely Kill An Opossum In Your Yard?

Opossums are pesky little creatures that can wreak havoc on a yard. They make a mess, damage landscapes and prey on chicken as well as domesticated birds. In fact, they can injure pets and domesticated animals.

It is best to take steps to discourage opossum activity in your yard. However, if they are already there you may want to do more than just make them someone else’s problem. Many states actually have dedicated opossum hunting seasons to help control populations.

A word of caution to those interested in eradicating opossums. Please do not use poisons. Opossum poisons are generally the same as rat poisons and they can be largely ineffective. They can also be consumed by household pets or found by children causing disaster. Besides, there is nothing humane about poisoning. It is a terrible and excruciating death that doesn’t come quickly.

Humanely Killing Yard Opossums

It may sound a little contradictory to use the words kill and humane together in a sentence. However, with a little effort you can provide a quick and painless death to the opossum that has been tearing up your yard. There are a few options.

If you are a good shot and your local laws allow, then a single bullet can take care of the problem without any suffering. You must be a good shot and willing to hunt at night because opossums are nocturnal animals.

You can also utilize lethal traps. They involve a cage that is fitted with a body grip. When the animal gets far enough inside, it is detained while a mechanism drives a spike through the brain. These traps provide a quick and painless death to the animal, but they can be hard to set. You also run the risk of killing a nontarget animal, such as the neighbor’s pet. They must be utilized with extreme caution.

Opossums do have several natural predators. Depending on your geographical location, you can encourage the presence of predators on your property to control the population naturally. Natural opossum predators include birds of prey, such as owls and eagles. Dogs, foxes, wolves and bobcats will also eat opossums.

Outdoor cats are a great opossum deterrent. Cats and dogs will typically run them off because opossums just want to be left alone. However, if cornered the opossum will win. Don’t let a cherished family pet loose on an opossum. It will not win.

The last option will cost a little money, but it is the most humane. You can catch the opossum in a live trap and take it into the veterinarian to be euthanized.

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