AND STILL THEY COME

Don't have enuf time to post pics or a daily update, but...
There was another possum caged last night. As of Wednesday night, the total is ONE MOTHER and (so far?) 13 or 14 young ones. That's more than it is believed one mother can have remain alive from a litter (12). So we're wondering if
this is somehow 2 litters?

STARTS AT THE BOTTOM
I guess all blogs start at the bottom and go up to have the most recent post at the top. So keep that in mind. Everything starts at the bottom.

OOH, THAT SMELL! CAN'T CHA SMELL THAT SMELL?

Isn't it ironic? Some will remember the battle I had when I moved into my house with the horrible smelly carpet that was ridden with past pet visits. It took a lot to get that under control. Now I'm back to square one in the same room- maybe farther?

I've been coughing and sneezing. Possums put off a SERIOUS, musky scent. Not as bad as a skunk. But after all this time, I can smell and almost TASTE IT. Even when I leave the house.

And they've been all under my house. Especially under the SAME ROOM as the smelly carpet was. And they were NESTING under the heating duct there as well. What's that going to smell like next winter?

I'm hoping to set up fans to blow out some. But it's been COLD here for May. Tonight it's down to 45 degrees.

WHO'S HAD EXPERIENCE RIDDING YOUR PLACE OF THIS KIND OF ODOR????? Post comments here or write directly to me: drmark7@juno.com

I'm trying to remember what was recommended for the carpet odor. Some kind of (ZIP BAGS?) of rock to put out to absorb the odor. I still have some of the ETERNITY stuff I bought
to de-odor a friends freezer (with SHRIMP inside) that was left off for 5 days in August. Once the last possum is gone, I'll be dousing everything with that. But I have to be careful of spraying the metal ductwork- in case it would rust it.

I'm just praying that one or two haven't crawled off to die in some remote corner.

First catch last Sunday night. Ken netted it and had to go out for a cage to put it in. The little bugger was getting away. So I had to grab this T vent to throw over the net.

CATCHUP TIME- More Details

SUNDAY May 7th- The exterminator comes and sets traps. While doing so, one baby comes right up to the door and Ken scoops him into a net with a knife. I have to hold the

MONDAY May 8th- The first day we got the mom and one baby in cages.

TUES May 9th- Found droppings on basement steps. So we put a cage on the step. Can’t recall if we missed trapping any today, but I’m sure we did.

WEDS May 10th- Checked the basement in the am before I went out at 9am. One was caught in the rat trap. Called Ken. He was over at 6:30 or so. One possum caged under the bathroom and got another in the rat trap on the floor.

THU 05/11/06- Went on the front porch and spoke to guy next door- Gave him a heads up on the possums in the neighborhood and told him he should check his foundation. Noted one more possum was trapped in a cage under bath. Then dad came over and we found (3 or 4?) in THE WALL!!! While pulling insulation from under the bathroom, we found a FUSE. (That’s important later.) Left to after school tutoring. Back and called Ken- He and his wife Shirley came over. My mom went to school with her. Ken dug them out of the wall. 4 in the bucket and one got back up in the crawlspace. It was sprinkling rain as they left. I went back down to clean the basement. It makes it easy to spot a new mess. The only thing in basement is a table and as I was cleaning up, I lifted a BAG OF FUSES (The ones I had to get last year when rain got in my fusebox). As I lifted the bag with the fuses I noticed THERE WAS A BABY POSSUM IN THERE!!! I got it in a bucket- then it got away while I tried to dump it in a garbage bag. Called mom, dad and Shirley. (Called me an "overcomer") That makes a total of *12* so far!!!

FRI 05/12/06- Ken over. One more in cage on floor. He said he researched and discovered that mom possum could have 2 litters in a year. One season was MARCH-APRIL. Just when she came in under my basement to nest.

Here's the rat trap my dad got for me. Baited with CAT FOOD by the exterminator.
It was set and tripped 2 times before it actually caught a baby possum. It has since been tripped twice with no catch. That's a thick wire I had put on it when it was under the crawlspace. So the trapped critter couldn't drag it up under where we couldn't get to it and die.

Here's the mess that was left on the basement steps after the first night that the possums went wild- after I crawled under the front porch and blocked the opening (and their exit.) They moved from under the crawlspace, into the basement and tore out the insulation from the perimiter.

Here they are. 4 or 5 baby possums. Nesting in a hollow block in the wall. Ken the exterminator scooped out 4 and one dashed back up under the crawlspace. So we still don't have them all. Numbering at one mother and nearly one dozen young ones.

The first one caged under my bathroom- clear on the other side of the basement. I'm noting that there seems to be an age difference between the young- uns. Note the first little one I posted seems MUCH younger than this.

Hollow blocks making up my cellar basement walls. Found an old GIN bottle in there! Were the possums having a BIG PARTY in there? And they didn't even ask me to join them! Darn critters.

SUNDAY- Hired an exterminator @ $40 per animal. Very nice, retired guy my dad knew from church. Sometimes his wife works with him. He came and sat up traps. We caught one critter right away. He came right up to the opening while setting the cages. Ken netted it.

MONDAY- 05-08-06- Caught the mother and one baby under the crawlspace in trapping cages. Didn't have my camera ready to snap them.

TUESDAY 05-09-06- 2 more possums trapped. Total count= 1 mom, 5 babies.1 baby caught my own rat trap.- Dr. M

PART 1 (05-11-06) Seems I have a whole FAMILY OF POSSUMS living under my house in the crawlspace. Long story, but on Sunday 05-08-06, I had to hire an exteminator for much $$$ to trap them. So far we got the mother and 2 babies- at least 5 babies spotted. Their entrance was a bowling ball size hole in the foundation- hidden deep under my porch. Had to tear off the side to get under there and close it off. Then they went nuts because they couldn't get out. This has been going on since LAST SUMMER (noises under the house and a growing odor!) I just put it all together. Stay tuned for MORE exiting chapters...

BUCKET O' POSSUMS

These are the ones Ken pulled out of the hollow blocks in my basement wall. 4 of them.

Up To My Ass In Possums!

After nearly a YEAR of noises under my house, I set traps. Mouse traps were set off and no catch. Same with Rat Traps.
On occasions, I smelled what seemed like cat pee. Which also smells like natural gas. In FEBRUARY, I had the gas company come and check for leaks and (what turned out to be coincidental) my METER was leaking and was changed. Still, both the odor and nightly scratching continued.

My nephew, the great Eric Weaver, helped me discover this. Tonight- May 05, 2006- Friday about 12pm. He was here to both hear the noises and smelled their odor thru the furnace vent. He wanted to go down and explore while the noise was active. Something I was a bit timid to do by myself- go down in the cellar basement.

So we opened the crawlspace door and there they were- 4 or 5 baby possums- but they all disappeared except for this one (pictured) that would have come right us to us. But I was too scared and shut the door.

Whoa! The animal kingdom

UPDATE- Saturday May 6th - Just last night my 19 year old nephew Eric made a late night visit and my critters had just been active under the house. Traps had been ignored. But the smell was there and noises/scratching. I feared it would be like taking a car to the shop- and then the noises stop. Indeed they did for about a half hour after he arrived. But then they came.

So Eric wants to view inside the basement crawlspace and there they were 4 or 5 BABY POSSUMS!!! They quickly retreated down to one as I started snapping pics. This has been going on since LAST SUMMER and I've never been able to spot anything.

That crawlspace is only about a foot high and where you see the gray duct against the right wall, the scratching I always hear is coming from BEHIND that. I feel they are nesting in there! This viewpoint is the only way in, under two rooms.

This is surely going to take money to get rid of...

WHEN ANIMALS ATTACK DR. MARK

Last night, they set off the rat trap and ate the bait, but no catch. I'd think a rat trap could catch a baby possum...

For professional help, it looks like 3 to 4 HUNDRED DOLLARS on the possum situation. Like a hundred up front and then $50 per creature. (5 spotted.)

Saturday afternoon, I went exploring- tore off a side grating under the porch and went under- dirtiest I've been in ages- and found a HUGE HOLE knocked in the foundation! Presumably for cross ventilation. Insane that it would be there. As big as a bowling ball, with no covering/screen.

I decided I'd plug it first, then see if I get any return visitors. I never hear noises during the day and they have to go out sometime (?). Unless Mom Possum comes and goes to feed them. They are not newborns, but very young. I also don't want any creatures to die down there. The odor now is bad enuf!

Then if the hole plugging doesn't work, I can decide if I want to buy cage traps myself- on sale at the local tractor store- 2 for $25. but I'd rather have a professionals expertise and hopefully guarantee.

SATURDAY Night MAY 6th- Blocking the opening didn't help. At 9:30 tonight, they are more active than ever. Possibly in response to the blocking? Now I will have to get my own cages or pay for a professional.

THE ODOR IS INCREDIBLE. As I sit in my living room at the PC near the heat duct they (presumably) nested under, my eyes are actually burning.

*_*_*
Oh, it's a mess now. They got active from 9:30, and way past midnight. Then it got quiet all of a sudden. So I went exploring. I can only presume the mother possum is going nuts. Trying to get out.

Every little nook and cranny was poked out. Where insulation was. They ever broke thru a round vent hole in the wall I had lamely sealed when I first moved in with cardboard! I actually saw their faces in the hole. Grabbed the closest material at hand and shoved it back in the opening.

SUNDAY- This morning, when I opened the basement door (classic cellar door on the floor) they had clearly went from under the crawlspace (at head level) down one level into the actual cellar basement. A huge piece of insulation was removed from the stair area and was shredded all over. I guess I'm too "afraid' to go down in there alone.

So I've now decided to call the exterminator, who was out and yet to return my call as of 7:30 Sunday night.

A friend emails:
>>You should stick a POSSUMCAM down there and start a
blog!

And here it is!