Possums (opposums) eating garden?

11 years ago

I am posting on behalf of my mom, who has had a miserable garden year. She is "at war" with whatever is eating her garden. She bought a have-a-hart trap and caught a possum last night.

Luckily she has a heart (she wanted my Dad to kill it) and went to check on it in the heat today. She thought it was giving birth, but I pointed out that they are marsupials, so if the babies are 'coming out of the stomach' they were probably born a while ago...

So, point of the rambling.. Will a possum destroy a garden. Her squashes, beans, peas, cukes, tomatillos (not tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants) have all been destroyed. They were either destroyed right after germination, effectively killing them, or the leaves were chopped off and gobbled cleanly.. only stalks were left. Some plants will live as the inner leaves were not touched...

Is this a possum? I don't think it is... in fact the prints I saw led me to believe it was a racoon... what would selectively eat leaves like this? It also made it over her fence as we found no evidence of it digging under...

Would love some suggestions! (Ps- I told her to save Mommy's life... she was probably hissing because she was in daylight!)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
in my experience .. where you have possum.. you have raccoons.. skunks.. groundhogs .. and rabbits ...

and it would be near impossible to figure out which are the culprit ...

safe to say.. the possum appears to be the stupidest in regard to walking into traps ... they always seem to be the first thing caught ...

and in the trap.. they are one of the most pissed off.. it has nothing to do with the babes.. they just need some anger management counseling ... [maybe they are angry about how stupid they are.. lol] ....

cantalope is a great dessert. and fantastic attractant in traps.. due to its wafting order ...

its probably time.. to fence in moms garden.. with some hardware cloth ...

disney has warped a couple generations of us all .. these are vermin.. varmints.. they carry disease ... destroy property ... and they are generally a nuisance .. do not start worrying about all that touchy feely stuff.. if you REALLY WANT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM ...

you might want to talk with your local pest control guy ... if this is really important ... my guy is in he book under TRAPPER BOB ... lol ..

ken
0
tdscpa
11 years ago
I only had one experience with a possum in my garden in the eight years I gave been at it. The possum only went for my "compost", or scrap? pile where I tossed my spoiled fruit and vegetables (tomatoes, melons).

My growing green plants are mostly just destroyed by rabbits, and birds are attacking ripening tomatoes for moisture, as we are in extreme drought status.
Related Discussions
Ground Hog and Possum problem !!!
Q
Comments (1)
the only solution to a groundhog is to move him away. They eat what they find. In past years I've trapped and relocated 4 groundhogs. Best bait: peanut butter in have-a-heart trap. Another way to keep them out is fencing. I created a rather unique fence with deer netting, some garden border wire fence at the bottom and twine to keep the netting up. It worked well and I supplemented it with dried blood (sounds gruesome I know but it keeps the deer away too). I don't think seven will make that much of a difference and I personally don't want to eat stuff that's been treated with seven. ...
...See More
Nutria, Possums, and Cats, Oh My!
Q
Comments (15)
Lots of good advice to my pondering about all the animals. I forgot to mention that I'm dealing with about 14 cats at last count! Nutrias were brought to various areas back in the '40s or '50s and raised in cages on farms for fur, to replace mink. When that didn't work out financially, the farmers let them out, and they have bred all over the US as far as I know. The nutria didn't kill many of my bamboo, they just gnawed the outer layers on newer stalks. My son went out on several evenings with a big stick and made lots of noise chasing the nutria, which seemed to help. Also, I read that the nutria, like beaver, HAVE to gnaw, because their teeth are growing---I think they are filing them back down. It is definitely not too cold for nutria-- Here in the pacific northwestern part of Oregon, it freezes a bit once in awhile in winter, but a snow or a real freeze is a big event here. It mainly just rains. I now have a water gun ready to shoot cats, I've planted plastic forks--tines up around my garden and hummingbird feeder; at least there are Anna's hummingbirds here year-round, and I'm preparing to put bird feeders up on posts where no cat can go. I'm also getting rid of the brush pile that I built up as a wildlife habitat---guess I don't really want the wildlife in my yard---just selectively. I'm taking all of your advice, thank you. Looking forward to a peaceful spring!
...See More
Opposums and Raccoons in the snow
Q
Comments (2)
The raccoons in my area gets fairly big, but not as big as a med size dog. The two individual I have seen were somewhere between a small dog (terrier size) and a medium size dog (65-70 lbs) or so. They are serious round in shape. They look like giant balls with legs and a tail. I don't know if this is because they are storing a lot of fat for the winter or if they are just obese. Previous to moving here, I rarely see them and they were a lot smaller. The opossum I seen was a bit smaller than the 40 lbs pumpkin, so I am thinking it's probably more like 20 lbs or so (I am betting that it's a lot of fur). Most of the opossum I have seen were smaller and they only seemed to come out at night.
...See More
Possums eating dog food?
Q
Comments (12)
The following paragraph is included in possum advice given by the web page linked below: "Find out what is attracting the possum to your backyard. Perhaps there is a ready food supply (eg dog food, fruit trees, vegetable or ornamental garden, compost bin, birdseed left on a bird feeding tray)." Here is a link that might be useful: Parks Web - Biodiversity
...See More
Kimmsr
11 years ago
Opossums are omnivorous, they will eat most anything except the poisoned baits some people put out. So will they eat the plants growing in your garden? Certainly, just as the rabbits, deer, and other wild critters will.
Many people do live trap wild animals without realizing that it may well be illegal to transport them in your state. In Michigan one must be licensed by the state to transport wildlife legally. Moving wildlife from one habitat to another more than likely will result in that animal being killed by those in the new habitat unless there is some habitutation done.
0
HU-767257278
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Actually possoms don't carry diseases guys and if you have a cricket infestation like we did outside our house that were actually eating our garden (especially pepper leaves and budding squashes) as we would come out at night and shine a light on our plants and see a ton of crickets. Possoms don't carry rabies they are immune to snake venom and keep your garden free of pests. Raccoons are lucky they're cute, their babies are so playful and rambunctious they always destroy something at night, on top of that they fight over food...

I have learned WHY it's best to have garden boxes high off the ground (right after we kept them low to the ground but veggies started to disappear darn it).
0
Kat H
2 years ago
Please don't like the opossums... They DO NOT CARRY DISEASE. Even though they can eat things with diseases.... They do not get the disease nor do they carry it. They are good to have around and get a bad reputation for no reason...so no matter how bad or dangerous your grandma or great grandma says they are... Please don't believe it. Do your research. They are amazing... They eat up all the ticks in your yard and in the woods so we need these little creatures. (Fyi They can eat ticks without getting any of their diseases)

Related Stories

WINTER GARDENING Great Design Plant: Ornamental Cabbage and Kale

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Yes, you can actually eat them. Or you can just marvel at their striking, unusual foliage during all four seasons in the garden

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Asclepias Incarnata for a Butterfly Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Beautiful swamp milkweed makes it easy to help monarchs and other pollinators in eastern U.S. gardens

Full Story

EDIBLE GARDENS How to Grow Your Own Peaches and Nectarines

By Marianne Lipanovich

Make gardening a little sweeter with these juicy fruits, which you can eat after plucking or preserve for later

Full Story

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Great Design Plant: Paint the Summer Landscape With Desert Willow

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

If the vibrant flowers of this Southwestern native tree don't blow you away, the hummingbirds, fire resistance and low maintenance will

Full Story

CONTAINER GARDENS 7 Deer-Resistant Flowers for Your Summer Containers

By Kim Gamel

Grow these as protection for edibles or just for their colorful beauty — deer might not like them, but everyone else will

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Lessons in the Rewards of Selfless Gardening

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Let go of gardening for your own vision and watch the garden’s own true vision come forth

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Mid-Atlantic Gardener: What to Do in June

By Amy Renea

Abundant sun is yielding bountiful blooms in the garden this month, but don't forget to watch for pests, package some seeds and plan ahead

Full Story

EDIBLE GARDENS Summer Crops: How to Grow Tomatoes

By Marianne Lipanovich

Plant tomato seedlings in spring for one of the best tastes of summer, fresh from your backyard

Full Story

FALL GARDENING 5 Fall Fruits You Can Grow in Containers

By Bill Marken

Brighten your porch or patio with a potted pomegranate, kumquat, blueberry bush or another great fall fruit

Full Story

FARM YOUR YARD Advice on Canyon Farming From L.A.'s Vegetable Whisperer

By Annie Thornton

See how a screened garden house and raised beds help an edible garden in a Los Angeles canyon thrive

Full Story

Possums (opposums) eating garden?

Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

tdscpa

Related Discussions

Kimmsr

HU-767257278

Kat H

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US