Thread: Angry Possums.... in a cage

Originally Posted by Boaraxa

Oh you mean like trying to strangle it with a leather glove …that would definitely work

I've heard if you stick your finger in there mouth they will suckle on it and be transformed into a comatose state

Decent Air pistol should do it I'da thought

Originally Posted by Boaraxa

When I was kid we used to make these …things I’m not sure they have a name but they are pretty powerful hurt like hell getting hit . would easily stun but likely kill a caged possum, get your self a foot or so of black 15 or 20mm Pvc pipe , we used to use fingers of the gloves you know the yellow dishwashing gloves , just cut a finger off at the base & slide a portion over the pipe and tape it onto it tight , we used stones but I’m sure some lead ball sinkers or bearings would be pretty lethal, I’m sure you could upgrade the glove to , point is you could place the pipe through the cage rite on the possums head & wack ….just an idea & pretty cheap

That's probably the best idea yet I reckon.
Ive been pondering a little about it as I never needed to live trap possums ( usually just shot onsite).
A bit of a hassle to get him out and ded without getting bit yourself.
So a ball bearing from the Shanghai device to stun, then get him out and belt on head with stick for insurance.

I've done this a lot of times, (the air rifle being too heavy to carry around the bush) I have a digging tool with something like a hammer on one side, using this you get the possum under the sloping end of the trap, it has a fight with the steel end of the tool then using my hook removers I grab its tail and pull it out the possum is now holding on to the cage so no danger of it attacking you so then grab its tail with your hand. Wack it on the head straight away (once I took my time before hitting it and it started climbing up its tail gave me a hell of a fright)

+ 1 berg243

I ran into this problem with my cage traps, with the possum hanging on and refusing to come out. A good while ago now I had a .22 bullet ricochet off a rock in the soil under the trap, that was enough to convince me there had to be a better way.

So I took an angle grinder with a thin cutting disc and cut a narrow slot in the wire mesh so that a good sized diving knife can be slotted through the top of the cage. About 3mm of steel removed from three squares, just enough that the knife moves freely up and down, but doesn’t flop about. One slot 3 squares back from each end of the trip and one in the middle one row of squares back from the cage handle. The knife can now be pressed home freely and with force. It has a razor sharp point and blade, which is long enough to almost reach the bottom of the cage before the guard hits the top of the cage and stops the thrust.

I kneel next to the trap with the knife in position and wait for the animal to settle down and position itself with its neck under one of the slots. I will gently encourage it to move into position with a length of bamboo stake. A swift execution follows with a sharp downward thrust. Every possum, rat and cat caught in those cages since this mod have been dispatched very cleanly with a swift stab straight through the spine. This is not a particularly pleasant way to do things but it sure as hell works. Most possums come out of the trap with the head dangling from the rest of the body on a flap of skin.

On the odd occasion I have been known to open the trap and leave it on the lawn whilst sitting back a good distance with two Staffordshire Bull Terriers held by the collar. Possum or rat’s dash for freedom can be measured in fractions of seconds. Nuff said.

There is only one easy way and that is an air rifle or .22. If you can't use that then use one of the many excellent kill traps on the market. Sentinel or trapinator traps are MUCH better kill traps than a timms. While there are some interesting solutions to killing a possum mentioned above, most of them will be hard to justify in a public situation.

As an aside, I can concur with Micky Duck on the how hard a possum can bite!

All I have ever done is pull the possum by the tail with right hand and hold cage with left hand, I've never known a possum to grip that well that it couldn't be ripped from the cage. Once out of the cage hang possum so front paws touch the ground as there is less chance of it climbing back up your arm, use the usual club to the head, if working in residential area where one can be observed then just place instep of boot over ribcage, put pressure on it until it breathes no more. If possums are caught and then get wet with rain, whether in cage or trap I take them home alive to dry them out before killing, always good fun getting them into a sack especially when there are already some in it...horse never seemed that keen carting live possums in a sack on their back.

@DavidGunn I have actually tried yanking them out with brute force in the past. Got rather put off after a pretty decent sized buck possum unexpectedly let go, and came fanging out of the cage arse first at a great rate of knots. I slipped over in the mud, possum hooked onto my other arm, I screamed like a school girl. Faithful old lab jumped on both of us, possum scarpers in the confusion leaving me covered in mud, stinking of possum with some decent claw marks streaming blood down my arm. Not my finest hour.

Just do what Flyblown does?

What would a vet who worked for the SPCA do who was into opossum trapping do ? Take the cage down to the local DOC office and let the live opossum go?

I heard of one chap in a rural area who feeds the local opossum by his house with food scraps and when he has befriend it enough he uses a stainless steel butchers glove to grab it, then he shears it for it's fur and then he lets it go. A win win situation all round. The opossum gets free food and lodgings and the farmer gets the fur to sell. A renewable resource out come all round?

What is animal cruelty? We all know about "blunt force trauma" in pest control in NZ.

Pest control by drowning or using snares in NZ? How many people out there who have got tip trap mouse / rat trap and then drop the animal it into a bucket of water to drown the "pest"?

Originally Posted by Flyblown

I ran into this problem with my cage traps, with the possum hanging on and refusing to come out. A good while ago now I had a .22 bullet ricochet off a rock in the soil under the trap, that was enough to convince me there had to be a better way.

So I took an angle grinder with a thin cutting disc and cut a narrow slot in the wire mesh so that a good sized diving knife can be slotted through the top of the cage. About 3mm of steel removed from three squares, just enough that the knife moves freely up and down, but doesn’t flop about. One slot 3 squares back from each end of the trip and one in the middle one row of squares back from the cage handle. The knife can now be pressed home freely and with force. It has a razor sharp point and blade, which is long enough to almost reach the bottom of the cage before the guard hits the top of the cage and stops the thrust.

I kneel next to the trap with the knife in position and wait for the animal to settle down and position itself with its neck under one of the slots. I will gently encourage it to move into position with a length of bamboo stake. A swift execution follows with a sharp downward thrust. Every possum, rat and cat caught in those cages since this mod have been dispatched very cleanly with a swift stab straight through the spine. This is not a particularly pleasant way to do things but it sure as hell works. Most possums come out of the trap with the head dangling from the rest of the body on a flap of skin.

On the odd occasion I have been known to open the trap and leave it on the lawn whilst sitting back a good distance with two Staffordshire Bull Terriers held by the collar. Possum or rat’s dash for freedom can be measured in fractions of seconds. Nuff said.

Would a bayonet from a old russian rifle would work?....(SKS/Mosin)Probably only a similar shape to rebar though

Who owns the bush?


If it is your bush then I would go air rifle. Or suppressed .22
Put the rifle in a bag and shoulder it. Forget about idiots being offended, so long as you are all legal etc.

If you are worried, call the police and advise them what you are up to , just in case some idiot thinks you are up to no good.

Originally Posted by muzza

In todays pc world I think you should just give that possum a politely worded telling off , then release back to his family before you hurt his feelings.

Failing that - stuff the muzzle of a suppressed .22 into his ear hole and pull the trigger. Standard velocity ammo and a good sup and only the possum will know.

I found a trapped possum is quite helpful at dispatch time when using a rifle.

Simply nudge the muzzle of the .22 around the possums head and the critter will attack the muzzle and usually try bite it.

Cue lead.

Job done.

The other trick you can do is open up the size of the head hole on the Timms trap
That gets the more cagey ones to stick their head in

Grab the possum by the tail while it’s in the trap and shake side to side gently while still keeping its front legs on the ground and pull it out of the trap and hit downward on the back of the head neck join. One hard smack will do it with the side of the hammer. If the fur is hard to pull it’s only stunned and needs to be hit again. If it manages to spin around and climb your arm lie down immediately as they just want to climb the tallest thing and will run off and find it


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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

the little huas CAN and DO have ability to draw blood through a welding glove....Ive never screamed like a little girl so much in all my life....and they were heavy welding gloves too.

My MAE suppressor with teeth marks. Didn't do much good but quite a final act of defiance!