Opossum possibly residing in rocks under my waterfall

[Debbie P]

Hope I'm putting this in the correct discussion thread
Finally got the pond back into a heathy maintenance mode after environmental tailspin and fish losses this summer but noticed today that we have a new resident!

We have outdoor security cameras and last night one activated when an opossum was nosing around our porch looking for food. This morning Hubby saw it on the rocks on the waterfall and I rushed out to scare it away and check the pond just in time to see the skinny white tail ease itself under the side rocks and go underneath.

The pond is covered with a secured netting and a few weeks ago I knew that a predator had been around because some of the stacked rocks had fallen into the water and the netting was submerged where the "critter" had struggled to get out.

I climbed up on the rocks and started banging some around hoping to scare it off - will have to check any openings to be sure that there isn't space for a burrow. I know a year ago neighbours around the corner had some burrowed under their pool and they had a really hard time getting rid of them.
I may be calling a local trapper to get rid of our visitor before it helps itself to our fish!

Anyone else have a similar situation and what did you do?

 

[ashirley]

We have them in our barn all the time. Get one of the humane traps and put a sweet roll in it. Catch them and release them in the woods.

 

[Angel]

We have them in our barn all the time. Get one of the humane traps and put a sweet roll in it. Catch them and release them in the woods.

5 miles or so away.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Dealt with opossums and raccoons for years. Of the two, raccoons would be the ones that should be focused on, as they will actively stalk fish even to the point of getting in the pond with them in order to catch one.
Opossums, on the other hand, are, by nature, scavengers and carrion eaters. They are not predatory. No harm will come to your fish from a opossum.

 

[mrsclem]

Groundhog dug a burrow on the hill above our ponds. Now dealing with sand and dirt washing down with rain. Live traps, relocate!

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

Hope I'm putting this in the correct discussion thread
Finally got the pond back into a heathy maintenance mode after environmental tailspin and fish losses this summer but noticed today that we have a new resident!

We have outdoor security cameras and last night one activated when an opossum was nosing around our porch looking for food. This morning Hubby saw it on the rocks on the waterfall and I rushed out to scare it away and check the pond just in time to see the skinny white tail ease itself under the side rocks and go underneath.

The pond is covered with a secured netting and a few weeks ago I knew that a predator had been around because some of the stacked rocks had fallen into the water and the netting was submerged where the "critter" had struggled to get out.

I climbed up on the rocks and started banging some around hoping to scare it off - will have to check any openings to be sure that there isn't space for a burrow. I know a year ago neighbours around the corner had some burrowed under their pool and they had a really hard time getting rid of them.
I may be calling a local trapper to get rid of our visitor before it helps itself to our fish!

Anyone else have a similar situation and what did you do?

Live trap is the best option..... Honey Buns are the best bait ...... I had a problem with raccoons and my garbage cans...... Caught two raccoons and one Opossum, relocated them to a river bottoms about five miles from my house..... But I also caught a skunk..... Let me preface this with..... I do not Hunt and I do not Fish, I take no pleasure of killing one of God's creatures..... But that being said I was not going to be sprayed by an upset skunk..... A 22 rifle took care of that..... Also neighbors cats will show up too

 

[bagsmom]

This spring and summer, SO FAR, my Dad has caught 13 possums in a live trap in their yard! He drives them far away and lets them loose at the edge of the woods by a corn field. He knows they are all different ones, but at first he was getting paranoid -- so he took to driving them there via convoluted routes. Just in case!

 

[Lisak1]

so he took to driving them there via convoluted routes. Just in case!

haha! We had a chipmunk problem one year - like we had DOZENS of them just lounging around on the patio drinking our soft drinks, eating our chips and whatnot - so we started trapping them and relocating. I had the same paranoia as your dad, so I got a can of that orange spray paint and gave them a good hash mark before we let them go!

(The end of the story is a stray cat came a-callin' and he had a real taste for chipmunk. We didn't see another one for YEARS after that.)

 

[addy1]

We have a few chipmunks see them now and then, catch a opossum now and then, when trying to trap the ground hogs. I just let them go again. They do a great job cleaning up the dead bees in front of the hives.

Caught a raccoon a few times, just let them go also they hardly ever come up to the house.