Suitable foods to offer possums Other favorites include rolled oats, sunflower seeds, dry dog food, baked beans, peanut butter and am sandwiches!
If you have a veggie patch or you have a compost bin and it is unprotected, possums will make the most of lovely, tasty, sweet fruit and veggies. They love peach trees. They love apple, banana and peanut butter.
Baiting Possum Traps with the Best Bait for Possums and Other Opossum Baiting Tips. Although they aren't particularly finicky eaters, the best possum bait is fish or apples. Baiting opossum traps with canned pet food also works well.
Do not feed possums almonds, cheese, onions, dairy products, green potatoes or junk food. Put food in containers in high, sheltered areas. Spread the food throughout the enclosure to promote natural foraging. Possums need fresh water daily.
They mainly eat leaves of eucalypts but also some shrubs (mainly wattles), herbs, flowers and fruit. They forage in the canopy, in lower levels of the forest and on the ground. In urban areas, the Common Brushtail Possum will eat a variety of food including fruit and bread.
Possums are mostly herbivorous animals, which means the bulk (no pun intended) of their diet is plant-based. Australian possums eat: Leaves - Just like koalas, possums are suckers for eucalyptus leaves. If there is no eucalyptus around, they settle for other plants, such as green plum, acacia, red bush apple, and more.
Opossums generally eat fruit, grains and insects, but will also eat out of compost piles, garbage cans and pet food dishes if they can get access. They have been known to eat fish, birds and mammals as well. Opossums usually have two to three litters per year, with an average of seven young in each litter.
In addition to ammonia and mothballs, possums will also steer clear of odors of vinegar, garlic, onion, peppermint, and camphor. These strong scents are often used as natural repellents to keep opossums away from gardens, trash cans, and other areas where they may be unwanted.
Suitable foods to offer possums
Most fruits are suitable, the favorites being apples, pears, sultanas, bananas, rockmelon, grapes, and watermelon. Most vegetables are also eaten, especially corn, broccoli, lettuce, parsley, carrot, tomatoes, cucumber.
Make sure you use appropriate bait such as fruit, berries, vegetables, peanut butter which will attract the possum into the cage. An apple cut in half is a great lure for possums. Place the lure at the end of the trap so that the possum has to walk all the way in and step of the foot plate.
If you have a yard, plant shrubs whose foliage and limbs hang low to the ground, providing cover and yet enough room for the opossum to maneuver underneath them. Planting bushes, trees and vines next to your fence will give the opossum ample ability to climb down into your yard for a visit.
Sweet-smelling fruits and nuts can attract possums. The ones that have fallen to the ground will be easy pickings for them so keep your garden free of rotten fruits. If they start to rot, their scent will become stronger and this will attract opossums to your yard.
Mixing either peppermint oil, ammonia, cayenne pepper, hot sauce or garlic with water in a spray bottle and misting it in possum-prone areas can be effective home remedies.
Feeding wildlife unnatural foods can do enormous harm:
These foods do not provide the correct nutritional balance causing deficiencies and predisposing them to disease. Bread can ferment in the gut causing bacterial infections.
Possums are nocturnal and mainly feed between dusk and dawn. Brushtail Possums are generally lone creatures, choosing a company when they want to breed.
Possums are repelled by the stench of garlic, ammonia and mothballs. So go ahead and scatter those around where you think possums might hang out.
Carbon dioxide gas is the most appropriate technique to euthanize opossums. Opossums also can be humanely killed with a gunshot to the head, if legal and safe in your area.
Use Scent to Get Rid of Possums
Bleach - Spray a solution of bleach (one part) and water (10 parts) around areas you want to keep possums away from. Mothballs - Spread mothballs around to keep them away, or even to flush them out of areas they like to hide in.
Main predators include dogs, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, large hawks, and great horned owls. The chance of rabies in opossums is extremely rare. When frightened, opossums bare their 50 sharp teeth and hiss or growl. However, they would rather avoid confrontation and be left alone.
Don't feed opossums.
"Opossums that are fed by people often lose their fear of humans and may become aggressive when not fed as expected. Artificial feeding also tends to concentrate opossums in a small area; overcrowding can spread diseases and parasites."
Rats and possums are common pests of citrus and will eat the peels of fruits. Sometimes they will leave the peel and eat the flesh or the entire fruit. Control rats with baits.
The best way to ensure your Opossum is getting the proper nutrients is to feed them a quality pellet diet like Insectivore-Fare, supplemented with lots of fresh vegetables and occasionally meat, eggs, insects, or plain low-fat yogurt as an added protein source.
Lack of specific nutrients required by possums: While cat food is designed to meet the nutritional needs of cats, possums have different dietary requirements. Feeding them a diet primarily composed of cat food may result in a lack of specific nutrients necessary for their well-being.
Opossum droppings average 1–2" in length, are smooth on the sides, and may be covered in white or yellowish mold growth. Fresh opossum droppings are brown in color. A unique characteristic of opossum fecal matter is that it tends to curl as the animal excretes the waste.