How Far To Relocate A Possum

You only want to hug them, don't you? They will eat everything in your garden and do it fast.

Not All Critters Are Bad

Possums are the only marsupial in the United States. A mother possum carries up to 13 babies in her pouch.

This informative video I made volition tell you more about our friend, the possum. It depicts a female parent that I caught and released with her babies. Learn some interesting facts virtually this misunderstood critter!

Take a Middle and Relocate Those Troublesome Critters

If you honey to garden and have been frustrated by all the critters that simply remember your abode is an "all you can eat buffet," and then you should practice what I did and buy a nice Havahart trap to capture and relocate them.

The prissy thing about these traps is they are non meant to harm the animals and are quite easy to use. Since I accept had issues with groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, in the past, I decided to have the trap out one more time this year.

If you have issues with any modest critters in your one thousand—possums, raccoons, squirrels, groundhogs, or others—this article and my video will show you how easy it is to capture and relocate them so yous can enjoy your garden again.

Things You lot Will Need:

1. *Havahart trap, size depends on what yous are looking to trap.
2. Carrots or other nutrient they are attracted to.
3. A lace to relocate your critters. Information technology should be far plenty away that they won't find their way dorsum to your home.

*I noticed in my local Home Depot they acquit a few sizes of the trap. I used the Model 1079, which is large plenty for most minor animals as y'all tin can see in my photos and video.

Now yous will need to observe a spot where you know they seem to come from. I found them coming and going adjacent to my tool shed where they take easy admission to my neighbor's yards and mine.

One time y'all have the spot, y'all will be able to prepare the trap and leave it. Note I have covered the trap with stuff to make it seem more natural. I keep my empty blossom pots here, and so I used them to brand the trap alloy in.

Dissimilar Animals Like Different Food . . . So Try a Few Unlike Things

I have used string beans, carrots (which seem to be very popular), peanut butter, zucchini, and other veggies. They all seem to work fine. They besides sell food for these animals so yous can buy some and use that as well. We already know that our groundhogs beloved the sunflower seeds in the bird food I feed my birds.

Notation: If you are trapping groundhogs, bank check dorsum every few hours to see if the door on the trap is close.

Groundhogs will eat all day. In 1 day we caught 1 early in the solar day, relocated him, and and so caught a 2d ane subsequently that afternoon. Possums are nocturnal and will only forage for food at night, so go out the trap and bank check information technology in the morning time.

You lot May Have to Make clean the Trap Before Relocating Your Creature

I noticed the groundhogs all had to eliminate their solid waste matter when in the trap. Might be from nerves or they simply have to go subsequently they eat. I took the trap to my grass and hosed it make clean making sure not to get the water on the groundhogs. Once the trap was clean, I put some newspapers on the dorsum of my SUV and put the cage in and nosotros were on our style. I also covered the cage with a large towel to keep them quiet.

Haveaheart traps are available at hardware stores and online.

Friendly Traps and Photos

Place the trap in a spot you know they go to and cover it with surrounding plants or other items to conceal information technology.

The Last Step: Relocate Your Critter To a New and Safe Home

I am lucky because I live in New Jersey. We nonetheless have enough of parks, woods, and farmland, which makes relocation relatively simple. Of course, that is probably why nosotros accept these critters. I am sure if I lived in an urban surface area the varmints would be the ones yous would desire to eliminate and not relocate. For the sake of this article, we are talking well-nigh native rural wildlife, non urban pests.

I have relocated my critters in a gorgeous county park; that is full of nature, beautiful creatures, and then, of class, all the people that come to enjoy our parks. Unfortunately, I discovered that this was confronting the constabulary in my state and had to find other areas to relocate my animals.

You may want to check with your local wellness section or park department to make sure it is OK to relocate your critter before you lot exercise as I did.

Tips:

• Accept workman or heavy gloves with you on your release of the critters. Prophylactic is disquisitional and you don't want to bargain with a bite or bad scratch from one of your animal friends.
• Wild animals are not pets, so handle them with extreme intendance. Remember, that a possum may look similar he is injured or even dead, but that is what they do when they are scared, don't attempt to handle them yourself.
• Be careful during the release by simply opening the trap and waiting for them to exit, or assist them by tilting the trap.

What Type of Garden Critters Do Y'all Have?

Catching and Releasing a Groundhog

This content is accurate and true to the best of the writer'southward knowledge and is non meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Mike Froio on July eleven, 2020:

How many miles away should you relocate a groundhog?

Mike on July 10, 2020:

I had a small groundhog living nether my deck and eating the marigolds and sniffing my cannabis plants. I would see him in the early morning time and in the late afternoon. I caught him in a live trap with a few bits of canalope and some spinach. I released him into an area abroad from other homes. The location was wooded with plenty of streams and lots of greens. He should thrive there equally it is a very large surface area.

Diane on July 07, 2019:

Equally for Possums finding their way dorsum: my little sis decided to pigment a trapped one's nails by reaching the castor through the muzzle. Afterwards releasing it a couple miles abroad our picayune fancy daughter came back a couple days later on!

jay on June 24, 2019:

I just caught a really funny looking ground grunter. Information technology was white with a long tail. Relocated it forty miles away. Fun fact - around these parts groundhogs clothing little collars with bells on them

.

M on May 24, 2019:

Rocking ranch ur wrong lol

rockinlranch.cyberspace on September 04, 2018:

A possum to a Equine person tin be deadly to their Horses.

They conduct a disease that horses can go. In some situations they may not be harmful, in others deadly.

Bash on June eighteen, 2018:

Its amazing,question is can a possum find his way back home,now you have the entire dearest story of critters accept an Answer to the question

Monserrat on Dec 23, 2017:

In my m there is a possum.

Park Director on August 31, 2017:

The article recommends checking with the park before releasing. PLEASE DO SO. We exercise not allow nuisance animals to be released in our park. The simple reason is that since they take get a nuisance to you... they rapidly go a nuisance to us or the people in the neighborhood next door. Nosotros have plenty of squirrels in our walls, raccoons in our trash, and woodchucks in our foundations WITHOUT your additions.

Also continue in mind that you're releasing your animals into a habitat that has a CARRYING CAPACITY (express nutrient, habitat, space) may already be inhabited by animals with established territory... that are willing to defend information technology! There just might non be appropriate conditions for that fauna to survive. So although you feel warm and fuzzy for live-trapping and releasing, you lot might likely be damning that animal to a boring and painful decease.

Humane euthanasia is often exist the amend, more than caring option.

Shenandoah Valley of Virginia on July 17, 2017:

I accept relocated seven ground hogs this yr. I thought for a couple of days that I was ahead of the game after number 5, than again after number 6, and again after number 7. Now I saw some other one. I move them almost 5 miles, to the other side of the interstate highway, in the event they are like cats, and are able to return home.

Indiana on April 05, 2017:

Please do not take critters to release in State Parks, I accept at present trapped and released 12 Raccoons, 4 Possums in just three months I live a mile away for the State park! We drive 20 miles abroad in a old wooded forest with a creek and shelter areas, making sure they are far from others home!

Robert on July 28, 2016:

I have a couple of opposums that take gotten into the house and are living above the suspended ceiling of my basement. they're walking effectually and I need to remove them. How can I practise this?

Len Rapoport (author) from New Jersey on October 26, 2015:

When I put out the trap I was looking for Groundhogs and didn't know much nearly Possums. When I caught this mom and her babies I started to read most them and the good they do. I haven't had whatsoever issues this past 2 years with Groundhogs or Possums in my yard, simply if I caught a Possum again I would just let it go in my yard. Bluntly the place I released mom and the babies was much better then my minor yard in a development. There she would have a better run a risk of feeding and raising her young. Cheers for your thoughtful and informative comments.

Mickey on September 02, 2015:

Defenseless my groundhog with a banana. $0.49/lb at kwik trip!

Candace Seaton on June 19, 2015:

You lot are foolish to remove 'possums, or yard angels. They are your all-time friends. They eat up ticks ans spiders, clean away dead things, control rat populations and do no harm. They don't chase, seize with teeth, get rabies, and will become quite friendly with y'all cat. Removing any animate being in summer may leave babies behind to starve. Please move animals in autumn just. Near relocated animals dice presently considering they are in a strange place with predators, no food or h2o, so try your best to live and allow live.

Joe Poniatowskis from Mid-Michigan on June 29, 2014:

Bully information, we have a family of groundhogs living under an old foundation on our farm. Since their burrows are hazardous to our horses, they have to become. This gives me an option over killing them.

dave on November 28, 2013:

i have the medium size live animal trap. 32"x 10"10 fifteen"

i bought mine at a place chosen harbor freight tools for only about 22$

that is much cheaper than the haveahart make if that assistance anyone.

ive defenseless ii possums using fish sticks but i think they'll eat but most annihilation. i was wondering about the altitude to relocate possums.

i took them about two miles away and i oasis't seen them again.

Karen on July 28, 2013:

This is awesome. The only groundhogs I ever saw upwardly north had furry brows, but the one in my yard (Nc) looks just similar this with a white nose. I feel very confident that I tin can catch it with a live trap now. I just have to bank check with the park to make sure its ok. Cheers for the confidence and information.

:-D

Len Rapoport (writer) from New Jersey on September 29, 2012:

Some say you should take them over 2 miles away or they will find their way back abode, some say even greater. Frankly, I have dropped some merely a half mile away and although I don't remember their faces :-) I unremarkably simply grab 2 a flavour in the yard and I am certain the ones I do catch are not the same ones I have relocated. Same with Possums that I catch. I do understand squirrels have a meliorate sense of where their homes were and can render if not taken a longer distance to relocate. I had a friend who told me he relocated over 25 squirrels from his yard in ane summer. I told him he really only had 5 of them and relocated the aforementioned v five times. We both laughed.

Jack on March xiii, 2012:

How far exercise I have to go when relocating a groundhog to be sure it will non return?

christy in upstate ny on September 27, 2011:

Thank yous for posting this. My groundhogs are excavating forth the side of a steep hill a few feet from my house causing a lot of erosion. Not willing to find out the hard way if this can compromise my foundation so they've got to be relocated. Caught the first one this morn afterwards setting the trap last night. Used canteloupe likewise! Took him (large guy!) 5 miles away to a secluded wooded area between two farms. Since information technology's late in the season, if he returns I'll retrap in belatedly winter and take him and his family unit across a river or canal where he'south non likely to be able to detect his style back. What I don't know is what to expect in early winter. Will the pups winter over with the parents in the same den? If not, do the mates stay together? Anyone know?

Anonymous on September 24, 2011:

Me and my son bought this trap, filled it with cantaloupe(yes, cantaloupe) and he was caught in 20 minutes.

Sandy on September 19, 2011:

I have caught and relocated ii possums in 2 nights using peanut butter, raisan bran cereal and footling debs pastry, worked like a amuse!

John B on July 28, 2011:

I do not recall seeing in the article or the responses, how far a woodchuck must be relocated so it does not return. Currently I take whatsoever I discover almost 4.5 miles but I am not certain that is far enough. Whatever thoughts.

Len Rapoport (author) from New Jersey on June 23, 2011:

Possums are actually good for your garden and volition not cause impairment. You can encounter a video I did with more data on Possums on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/FV-1q_sWCfg

Groundhogs, nevertheless are destructive and will non merely dig holes (possums climb trees) and eat anything and everything in your garden, including your flowers and must be relocated. I constitute out in New Jersey it is too confronting the law to relocate them in the parks...then yous need to find a desolate expanse that you can do and so. Our state is not big on saving wild animals and would rather take yous kill them and then relocate them.

KOSMO06 on June 23, 2011:

Sliced apples is the all-time nutrient to use to catch Groundhogs, use them all the time and I have caught and relocated 5 so far this year.

Lolly on June 30, 2010:

I used a few dabs of vanilla extract and caught them in a few hours. Works corking.

K on May 06, 2010:

This blog saved me! I live in N Jersey by a brook. I have given up gardening considering footing hogs have ruined not only my vegetable garden only also all of my perennial garden. I take had the "Haveaheart" trap for 2 years and was terrified to employ it. Nosotros finally set it up in the Spring and caught a possom, my husband took care of disposing of it. Nosotros defenseless some other one today and I am going to be the fearless woman that I am and relocate information technology by myself to a nature preserve xx miles away. This blog and corresponding video has given me courage!

Len Rapoport (writer) from New Jersey on March 08, 2010:

Did you encompass information technology with leaves and stuff so it is dark and blends into the background. Also endeavour different types of veggies...I tried string beans, carrots and even watermelon rinds. I have defenseless GH and Opposums...I have an opposum now coming to my dorsum door at night, and then shortly I will go the trap out because I heard they mate in the Spring and don't want a bunch of little ones to deal with.

wrypatch from Virginia on March 08, 2010:

I have this verbal trap, and - alas - information technology hasn't worked to nab my evil groundhog. Been tryin' for three seasons now. I defenseless (and relocated, despite it existence confronting the constabulary here) 3 opossums, but that GH is far too smart. I heard cat litter (the wreak of ammonia) makes them leave. That's the program this year. I've quick-creted most of my basement already. War is hell.

Source: https://dengarden.com/gardening/How-to-Safely-Catch-Relocate-Groundhogs-Possums-Other-Native-Animals

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