I've seen a possum near our garden. We have a decent fence, but we've
lost stuff in the past. (Probably to woodchucks.) I'm not getting a
clear answer from google as to whether possums are much of a pest. It's
a very dry year, so I imagine it will be tempted.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on (a) how interested it will be in our
beets/broccoli/beans/carrots, and (b) how good they are at getting past
a fence.

Thanks,
G

George wrote:
I've seen a possum near our garden. We have a decent fence, but we've
lost stuff in the past. (Probably to woodchucks.) I'm not getting a
clear answer from google as to whether possums are much of a pest.
It's a very dry year, so I imagine it will be tempted.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on (a) how interested it will be in our
beets/broccoli/beans/carrots, and (b) how good they are at getting
past a fence.

Thanks,
G

If you mean this critter:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possum

The brushtails and ringtails are smart, agile, strong and determined. They
are a significant pest here stealing or damaging most kinds of fruit. I
haven't found them taking vegetables but don't rule it out. They are
excellent climbers and will beat most fences unless specifically designed to
exclude them.

If you mean this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum

I have no experience.

David

George said:


I've seen a possum near our garden. We have a decent fence, but we've
lost stuff in the past. (Probably to woodchucks.) I'm not getting a
clear answer from google as to whether possums are much of a pest. It's
a very dry year, so I imagine it will be tempted.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on (a) how interested it will be in our
beets/broccoli/beans/carrots, and (b) how good they are at getting past
a fence.

Opossums are not a problem as far as beets, broccoli and carrots go.
Probably not much of a threat to bean, either. In dry weather they will go
after ripe tomatoes.

What they really love are sweet corn and ripe melons. They will also eat
berries and tree fruit (apples, peaches, etc.).

Possums are a bit dim-witted, but tenacious and are excellent climbers.
They can also squeeze through smaller gaps than you might think. They
have all night to figure out how to get into your garden, if they have a
notion that something good is in there.

Based on my experience, they are the only animial that will scoot forward
when a trap door is coming down on them rather than back out. You can
trap a surprisingly large possom in a small, squirrel-sized trap.

Opossums can go over any fence a groundhog can go over (and both are
more likely to climb over a fence than dig under).

They have the most teeth of any North American mammal. And they really
do "play possum" (roll on their back and gape their mouth as if they were
dead).
--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

email valid but not regularly monitored

George wrote:

I've seen a possum near our garden. We have a decent fence, but we've
lost stuff in the past. (Probably to woodchucks.) I'm not getting a
clear answer from google as to whether possums are much of a pest. It's
a very dry year, so I imagine it will be tempted.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on (a) how interested it will be in our
beets/broccoli/beans/carrots, and (b) how good they are at getting past
a fence.

I don't think I'd worry about *those* veggies. Mine like the
compost pile & clean up the squirrels & roadkill nearby.

I think they *could* get past most fences--- but I don't see them
making the effort.

I catch a few every year in the woodchuck box trap. I let them go.

Jim

George wrote:
I've seen a possum near our garden. We have a decent fence, but we've
lost stuff in the past. (Probably to woodchucks.) I'm not getting a
clear answer from google as to whether possums are much of a pest. It's
a very dry year, so I imagine it will be tempted.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on (a) how interested it will be in our
beets/broccoli/beans/carrots, and (b) how good they are at getting past
a fence.

if you're talking about the north american long tailed
version they are fairly dumb but persistent.

i knew some folks who kept them as a pet. they love
french fries.

no problems in the many years here with them getting
in the vegetable patches. no idea about fruit as we don't
have fruit trees. I've not seen any sign of them in one
strawberry patch (in the fenced garden), but we see them
all around and catch many in the live trap. they eat birds
and bird eggs if they can find them at night. raccoons
are 100x worse (smart and persistent and more likely to
raid anything they can find). we rarely find raccoons
in the live trap.


songbird

On Thu, 12 Jul 2012 07:23:44 -0400, George
wrote:

I've seen a possum near our garden. We have a decent fence, but we've
lost stuff in the past. (Probably to woodchucks.) I'm not getting a
clear answer from google as to whether possums are much of a pest. It's
a very dry year, so I imagine it will be tempted.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on (a) how interested it will be in our
beets/broccoli/beans/carrots, and (b) how good they are at getting past
a fence.

Thanks,
G

If you mean Opossum, we've never had any problem garden wise with them
but they have played havoc with our poultry and eggs in the past.
They seem to like carrion and quite often in this area, while dining
on roadkill they end up that way themselves. I have more than once
seen an Opossum dining a road-killed relative.
They do climb quite well so a fence will be no problem if they do take
a fancy to something in your garden.
..22LRHP is a good deterent.

Ross.
Southern Ontario, Canada

Thanks to all. It ended up in my woodchuck trap. I decided that was a
sign.

G