Thread: Angry Possums.... in a cage

So have been setting a cage trap in some local bush to try and clean out some possums who are wary of the Timms and other traps we have in there, finding it a pain in the ass dispatching rather uncooperative possums quickly - not cool to take the air rifle as too close to residential areas and no handy troughs or ponds to chuck them in. Not wanting to taxi them back and forth to home. If you try to haul them out by the tail they hook on for dear life and pretty hard to dislodge.

Thinking of either:
a. Rigging up a ss wire noose through a section of aluminium tube to try and haul them out without getting shredded to where the trusty possum whisperer can finish the job.
b. Seeing if I can shake them out into a sack where I can pin them in place long enough to give them a wee tap on the head.

Anyone else got some clever solutions to try?

long sharp metal rod, ike them in the cage?

A guillotine is the solution as would say my ancestors.

yeah tried a sharp bit of rebar - surprisingly hard to spike them accurately even confined in the cage and felt bad having to poke them a few times to dispatch them + pretty bloody messy!

Take a long sack that is big enough to pull partway over the trap. Bit of an act to slip the lock bar up and open the door so lay the trap upside down. The possum can be run / encouraged into the sack. Kneel on sack to trap possum in sack. Feel for head and strike behind ear. Wear gloves , dont mistake own hand for possum head

A mate uses a blow gun to dispatch them but needs to be pretty accurate.

Take a machete.

Get a good powerful air pistol. Easy to conceal and will do the job. Don't know what's available nowadays. Thinking around 350+ fps? Some of the older spring ones used to deliver around that

Originally Posted by Friwi

A guillotine is the solution as would say my ancestors.

It is a long way to the “Place de la Revolution” in Paris but “Vive la guillotine”. Off with the heads of the bourgeois possums. Ha ha ha ha

Coal bag or similar big enough for the entire cage, put it down behind your car, cage goes in bag opening of bag goes over exhaust with a bit of string, go turn your car on and warm it up for the drive home.... Bit if a pain having to carry the cage out of the bush

I've heard of cage going for a swim for a couple of minutes. Not ideal but it's quiet.

If all else fails, aquire a terrier and put into cage.

1. Drowning animals is illegal.

2. An air pistol (unless it's a decently powerful pcp) is not really powerful enough for a quick clean kill.

If you are catching them in cat cages then put the cage in the car and drive somewhere that you can use a more powerful air rifle or 22 to dispatch them properly.

Just be very careful as some ways mentioned could get you into trouble with some. Air rifle is the easiest.

Apparently exhaust pipe gas is pretty useless from many modern vehicles as CO gets highly reduced by the emissions gear. A near neighbour tried it (on himself..) and failed

Bolt gun would be the way