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Post by Mari-in-IN on Dec 1, 2018 17:15:08 GMT
Until this year...  ~Mari |
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Post by susannah on Dec 1, 2018 17:44:33 GMT
Oh, look at that grinner! Is his fur black or dark brown? Normally they're a lighter gray, right? At least the ones I've seen were. We don't have them up here (as far as I know - I think we're a little on the cold side for possums). I never had one come to a feeder when we lived in the southern part of the state, although we definitely did have them. And seeing one always drove my dog absolutely wild.
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Dec 1, 2018 18:00:35 GMT
Oh, look at that grinner! Is his fur black or dark brown? Normally they're a lighter gray, right? At least the ones I've seen were. We don't have them up here (as far as I know - I think we're a little on the cold side for possums). I never had one come to a feeder when we lived in the southern part of the state, although we definitely did have them. And seeing one always drove my dog absolutely wild. It's black. And that is the smallest one I've ever seen. That little bugger is about the size of a (very) small cat. We also have another one that comes around that is a little bigger, but is blonde and dark brown. Yeah, before this fall I had only seen the gray variety - we've been here for 16 years so this was indeed a surprise. They drive our dog wild as well - the possums AND the coons. ~Mari |
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Post by dustawaits on Dec 1, 2018 18:30:31 GMT
Black is not in uncommon. But you will see lot more silver or gray.
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Post by mollymckee on Dec 1, 2018 19:53:53 GMT
My brother had a couple of white ones, not albinos, hanging around for several years. I would guess odd colors make them more of a target both to their own species and others.
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Post by Woodpecker on Dec 1, 2018 22:50:02 GMT
Our possums here are all gray...maybe the mother was a raccoon🤪kinda a cute little guy. We once had one living behind our workbench in the garage. They remind me of rats!
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Post by mollymckee on Dec 1, 2018 22:57:16 GMT
Don't let possums hang around if you have horses, they carry several diseases they can transmit to horses.
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Post by Use Less on Dec 1, 2018 23:00:29 GMT
'Possums are your friends!!! They are MAJOR consumers of TICKS. If you need to move a 'possum down the road, do so, but don't kill them. Death to TICKS!! 
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Dec 1, 2018 23:19:22 GMT
Don't let possums hang around if you have horses, they carry several diseases they can transmit to horses. That's interesting - did not know that. No horses here... Just chickens and cats and one dog. ~Mari |
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Dec 1, 2018 23:35:42 GMT
'Possums are your friends!!! They are MAJOR consumers of TICKS. If you need to move a 'possum down the road, do so, but don't kill them. Death to TICKS!! Oh my, your "Death to TICKS!! and your emoji of choice just made me laugh!! The possums don't bother us one bit. I must admit I find them quite fascinating - especially since sometimes you can get quite close to them... We do have to make sure we get the outdoor cats fed before they come out. One thing I have noticed indeed is the absence of ticks and we live in a woods. I always thought it was perhaps the chickens -that is great knowing the possums get rid of them! I just showed my husband your reply and he was surprised as well to learn this. We don't use Frontline or anything on the dog and she is in/out. No fleas at all and have only pulled two ticks off of her this year. The outdoor cats - probably only pulled off two-three ticks total. Long live the possums! -- Possums are your friends!   I know, I know, they are actually opossums... DH said I should have been putting a ' in front of possums... Piiiii...cky!  ~Mari |
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Post by susannah on Dec 2, 2018 15:40:38 GMT
'Possums are your friends!!! They are MAJOR consumers of TICKS. If you need to move a 'possum down the road, do so, but don't kill them. Death to TICKS!! I know, I know, they are actually opossums... DH said I should have been putting a ' in front of possums... Piiiii...cky! ~Mari So I'm safe because I said "grinner"? Oh wait. I went on to say "I think we're a little on the cold side for possums". Oops. I do remember calling them "opossums" when I was a child - that's what my parents called them, as did just about everyone else. I'm pretty sure I can blame my switch to the term "possum" on The Beverly Hillbillies, in particular Granny. And my subsequent switch to "grinner" on my friend Lynn's dad. I guess I'll stick with "grinner" since I'm very likely to forget the apostrophe before possum - or to start calling them opossums again. I do wish we had/had more of them this far north (I've never seen one up here). We do have lots and lots of ticks - including the dreaded deer ticks - so we certainly could use their help. Calling all grinners - it's an all you can eat tick buffet in northern Wisconsin, if you're interested in moving. |
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Dec 2, 2018 17:14:21 GMT
I know, I know, they are actually opossums... DH said I should have been putting a ' in front of possums... Piiiii...cky! ~Mari So I'm safe because I said "grinner"? Oh wait. I went on to say "I think we're a little on the cold side for possums". Oops. I do remember calling them "opossums" when I was a child - that's what my parents called them, as did just about everyone else. I'm pretty sure I can blame my switch to the term "possum" on The Beverly Hillbillies, in particular Granny. And my subsequent switch to "grinner" on my friend Lynn's dad. I guess I'll stick with "grinner" since I'm very likely to forget the apostrophe before possum - or to start calling them opossums again. I do wish we had/had more of them this far north (I've never seen one up here). We do have lots and lots of ticks - including the dreaded deer ticks - so we certainly could use their help. Calling all grinners - it's an all you can eat tick buffet in northern Wisconsin, if you're interested in moving. Yep! I see that term used quite a bit when researching possums. AND, I do think DH was indeed being picky since I am seeing a lot of the possum out there as well - without the '. (He likes having fun with me  ) Granny! Now that's someone I haven't thought about in a long time... that show was a hoot. I wish you had them too. It's frightening thinking about all of those ticks up there-that's for sure. Maybe you need a flock of guineas? I've learned a lot since I first posted that pic. I didn't know that possums were marsupials, didn't know that they could use their tails either, and the list goes on... I sure wish I had taken a pic when a possum wandered into the fenced area where we let the dog out into. This one was so convincing while it was "playing possum". Oh, also seems a shame that they only live two years or so... ~Mari |
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Post by dustawaits on Dec 3, 2018 16:04:40 GMT
Tick country, possum country, possums with ticks, I think
they get tick fever too. They sure reproduce fast here, the possums
I mean, but then the ticks are horrendous.
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Post by Ken on Dec 3, 2018 16:08:19 GMT
Keep in mind they don't go out of their way to hunt and eat ticks. They just eat the ticks that find their way onto them. I'm sure that does have some small impact on the tick population though (better than none).
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Post by dustawaits on Dec 3, 2018 16:11:42 GMT
I missed that Mari-in-IN, I don’t agree with the 2=years living. Wait till you an old old male, They can weigh 30 lbs particularly if they have a chicken diet. Mother shot one under the house, knew she hit him because his eye blinked out. She was a sure shot.... 6 years later our dog killed that old one eyed male. They have a very small brain so if you do a head shot you can miss it! But they have either a very strong will to live or no pain. A dog can kill them , break every bone in their body and they will get up after the dog leaves and go on their way. |
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Dec 3, 2018 16:18:47 GMT
I missed that Mari-in-IN , I don’t agree with the 2=years living. Wait till you an old old male, They can weigh 30 lbs particularly if they have a chicken diet. Mother shot one under the house, knew she hit him because his eye blinked out. She was a sure shot.... 6 years later our dog killed that old one eyed male. They have a very small brain so if you do a head shot you can miss it! But they have either a very strong will to live or no pain. A dog can kill them , break every bone in their body and they will get up after the dog leaves and go on their way. I thought that seemed rather short myself... For what it is worth - I read that here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum"The opossum lifespan is unusually short for a mammal of its size, usually only one to two years in the wild and as long as four or more years in captivity. Senescence is rapid." |
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Post by deke01 on Dec 3, 2018 23:42:42 GMT
When I was in college, I worked as a night auditor in a hotel located in the state park. At night, I answered the phones for the rangers and they would come in to the lodge to get coffee and say hi. One summer I got 2 calls to save baby racoons and one call to save possums. In all cases, the mothers had been run over and the nature center was not interested in raising what they deemed nuisance animals.
So the rangers brought them to me and I took them home to the farm. We didn't really have anywhere to keep them and the farmer we rented from would have had a cow if he knew we had "vermin," so we kept them hidden in a spare room. The first two coons and four of the 12 possums were very friendly. My wife to be had a nearby aunt who was a kindergarten teacher and I was able to take the friendly ones to her school to show the kids. The coons would ride on my shoulder or clinging to my legs as I walked the hall. They were lots of fun.
The second 2 coons came a little older than the first ones and never tamed down. In a way it was disappointing but I knew I would have to release them to the wild one day and wanted them to fear people. That fall, with all the critters mostly grown, I released them in the state park, which is 1000s of acres of lake and forest. I put out food for them and went back each day until it was clear they would not return for the chow.
That was then. Now I have chickens and hate it when I see possums and coons on the farm because I know they are trouble. I've scared them away as much as possible. There was only one coon I shot at and that was because he seemed sick, wandering in circles in a cow pasture during the middle of the day. He was about 400 ft away and I was armed only with a pistol, so there wasn't much chance of me hitting him. He ran into the woods and has not been seen again.
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Post by Maura on Dec 4, 2018 0:23:27 GMT
When I pulled up the drive the other day I saw a big ball of gray and silver fur looking out from my pole building. It has a dirt floor and critters can dig their way in. He waddled off and I secured the doorway he apparently was using.
Beautiful coat on that animal. But, he needs to find another place for the winter.
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Post by Use Less on Dec 4, 2018 2:49:16 GMT
Keep in mind they don't go out of their way to hunt and eat ticks. They just eat the ticks that find their way onto them. I'm sure that does have some small impact on the tick population though (better than none). Reputable research says they catch and eat 90-95% of the ticks that get on their own hides, and consumer upwards of 5000 a season... Not sure I'd call that small. |
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Dec 4, 2018 3:01:35 GMT
Keep in mind they don't go out of their way to hunt and eat ticks. They just eat the ticks that find their way onto them. I'm sure that does have some small impact on the tick population though (better than none). Reputable research says they catch and eat 90-95% of the ticks that get on their own hides, and consumer upwards of 5000 a season... Not sure I'd call that small. I came across a couple of articles in regards to that as well Use Less... ~Mari |
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Post by Ken on Dec 4, 2018 16:43:26 GMT
Reputable research says they catch and eat 90-95% of the ticks that get on their own hides, and consumer upwards of 5000 a season... Not sure I'd call that small. Thanks. Your comment caused me to do some digging. Learning is always useful. I also saw that number (from one source, repeated across many articles). An extrapolation of the number based on feces samples. That's fine, that number may be a great estimate. The problem is the number of ticks. I didn't really find any good data on that. There are many cases of Lyme disease reported, but there doesn't seem to be many (any?) studies of tick populations. Probably because it can vary so widely for different areas. I saw one article mention approx 50 nymphs per month per hectare (~2.5 acres) or ~600 nymphs per year. Another article mentioned approx 20-30 opossums per square mile (~260 hectares or 640 acres). So, 1 opossum per ~ 25 acres (using an average of 25 opossums per sq mi). That would be about 6000 nymphs per year for 25 acres. The life cycle of the tick is 4 stages over 3 years, so that would be 18,000 ticks over 3 years. The opossum would eat ~ 15,000 of those. That leaves around 3000 ticks over a 25 acre area or around 600 ticks for 5 acres. And that 600 would be over the course of 3 years. Hmm. I tend to think I have MANY more ticks than that in my little 5 acre pasture, LOL!! I any event, even if they only ate 25% (which they possibly eat much more than that), I would not consider that small either.  |
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Post by 1shotwade on Dec 4, 2018 22:15:31 GMT
I've watched a lot of deer hunting videos and seen a lot that seems to be covered in ticks! We have taken around 100 deer off this farm in the last 30 years and have never seen a tick on any of them. Yet I have also sat back at the pond fishing and killed 16 ticks off me in less than 2 hours!
What am I trying to say? I don't have a clue! Just injecting some facts.
Wade
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