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Barnyard Buddies:  When wildlife comes to visit. . ..  |
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JojoNH
True Blue Farmgirl
1984 Posts
Joanna
Dunbarton
New Hampshire
USA
1984 Posts |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
 Posted - May 10 2009 : 10:03:13 AM
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We recently started getting a late night visitor too.
Here's the story...............
Every night I would feed the cats, turn out the lights and go to bed.
Some nights it sounded like those durn cats were a herd of cats parading across the porch. This would happen abut the same time the bedroom light was turned off.
One night DH discovered an opossum on the porch when he went out to investigate the noise. Subsequent mornings, I started noticing how the cats were cleaning EVERYTHING up in their bowl. kind of strange since they leave at least a few crumbs....
That and I noticed a particular lingering funk too.
One evening I heard that same bumping noise. (It's the sleeping box for the cats that wobbles beneath the food bowl every time an animal jumps up to eat). I quick jumped out of bed, flipped on the porch lights, flung the door opened and caught an opossum in the act!! HA! But it wouldn't budge. I had to take a few steps and start waving my arms.
I then looked over and saw our 2 cats sitting there on the end of the porch just staring at me all wide eyed. Both of em' sitting side by side!
So cats were fed at a different time, all food particles were neatly done away with, and a trap was set.
First 2 weeks, didn't get a thing--even baited it with catfood AND cheap-o extra creamy p-nut butter. Sorry, wasn't going to waste my good organic p-nut butter on a varmet!. Anyway
Moved the trap into the middle of the side yard and the next moring WHAMMO!! Caught the theiving culpret.
It was indeed our opossum. And a might BIG one at that! I had to leave for work, so I left instruction w/ DH to please take the possum with him when he left to work a side job. (Like about 8 miles away at an abandoned house where he maintains the yard for an old frined in a nursing home.
Long story longer...I called home that afternoon to relay a few messages, and found out our possum friend had been eating for ohh about 8! SHE had babies with her!!
DH still hadn't gone to the house yet, so when I got home, there she was sleeping in the trap. She almost looked dead (duh! possum---nocturnal! And I;m the animal keeper?!!)
But I could see her breathing. So we went to the friend's house and let her go. Kind of hard to do BTW when the trap's door is heavily hinged and hard to prop open when where's an angry wild animal trying to bite you. What happend to playing possum!?
Now, if this same thing starts happening and it's a skunk, I think we'll just have to call a truce.
So, Joanna, good luck nabbing your visitor!
May I recommend Hav-a-heart live traps???? |
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JojoNH
True Blue Farmgirl
1984 Posts
Joanna
Dunbarton
New Hampshire
USA
1984 Posts |
Posted - May 10 2009 : 12:21:21 PM
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LOL!!! Love your story!! Wish mine "visitor" would fit into a trap, LOL!! If you check out my blog you will see, my visitor is a Medium size Black Bear!  These guys will eat you out of house and home in a heart beat if you let them. . . don't think we will be trapping him, just teaching him better manners.
Thank you for sharing your story, I can see your two cats sitting there looking at you. . . to funny!
Joanna #566
JojoNH
http://www.CountryCents.com
http://CountryCents.Blogspot.com
http://Twitter.com/Eastwooddesigns |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2009 : 03:45:05 AM
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OH GEEZ!
I tried hooking up to your blog yesterday and couldn't get the image on this computer. So I had to guess as to the visitor
A bear oh boy 
Best to leave this beast alone!
Forget have-a-heart!!!
And no amount of arm waving and empty human threats will scare it away if its hungry, that's for sure!!
It would be cute to see closer up the first time, but when it becomes a habit and a threat, that's just a pain in the neck.
I wonder if you called to have it removed if another eventually would just take its spot.
Nature is ever the opportunist--that's for sure!
We also have coyotes and have even seen one in one of our fields. We see their scat on some of our walking trails.
Thankfully they stay on the move and to date haven't bothered our cats, the dog or all the chickens |
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JojoNH
True Blue Farmgirl
1984 Posts
Joanna
Dunbarton
New Hampshire
USA
1984 Posts |
Posted - May 11 2009 : 04:17:18 AM
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LOL!!! I live in the Great North Woods, this IS where they bring trouble bears!! LOL We are very use to this situation and work with the wildlife officers in retraining these bad boys.
We have a shot gun with 3 different rounds loaded into it. The first one is the noise maker, sounds just like a shot gun blast but no bullet. The second round is a rubber bullet, shoot them in the rear end as a stern warning and needless to say the last one is a live round. . . which I hope to never use.
We had one bear try to break into the kitchen, if he had been successful they would have had to put him down. Once he knew how to get in he would be a menace to everyone. We managed to retrain him, although it was a trying 30 days for sure! ( one year I could identify on sight or by tracks 10 different bears! a record for me)
It is to early for berries but there is lots of other good bear food around. . . so I know this one is just lazy and has been being fed by weekenders. . . which leaves US with the problem after they go home!
 Geeze, if they had this as their problem they would never feed the bears in the first place!
Joanna #566
JojoNH
http://www.CountryCents.com
http://CountryCents.Blogspot.com
http://Twitter.com/Eastwooddesigns |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2009 : 03:38:36 AM
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Oh no kidding!
So can folks around you get bear insurance on a house!?
I can't even imagine having to call an insurance company due to a few doors being ripped off, and the inside of a house being trashed.
Folks don't realize the damage being done to both the native animals and people. |
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Barnyard Buddies: When wildlife comes to visit. . .. |
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When wildlife comes to visit. . ..
