Possums have a massive taste pallet compared to many other animals. They’re omnivores, which means they enjoy eating plants and meat as well. Whether you’re trying to trap one or you’re merely curious, you’re in the right place!
So, what do possums eat? Typically speaking, possums eat berries, nuts, bugs, small animals, and vegetables. They’ve also been known to eat birdseed if they’re desperate to find a food source.
If you’re looking for the ultimate meal to trap a possum, there are quite a few choices. Let’s review the best options in the section below.
What do possums eat to trap?
Are you worried about the local possum rummaging through your garbage or attacking your pets? Fortunately, you can trap them rather quickly. It should be noted that possums are a great pest to have around if there are a lot of ticks in the area.
It’s believed that the average possum can eat up to 5,000 ticks per season. Ticks are known to have Lyme disease, which can cause all sorts of uncomfortable bone and joint issues. If you don’t have any concerns about your house or pets, then it’s best to let possums do their cleanup job.
When you’re attracting a possum, it’s crucial that you don’t accidentally attract other animals as well. Birds, stray animals, squirrels, and all sorts of wildlife would love to eat the food right out of your trap.
However, you can use aniseed oil on bread to only attract a possum. They also love sweetbreads, marshmallows, apples, and many other sweet foods. Place the food deep inside of the trap. Small critters can quickly snatch the food away if you don’t have it well-secured.
Possums also love hot dogs, which might be strange, but they’re absolutely crazy for them. Putting a hot dog on a stick and placing it inside of a trap is a perfect way to trap a possum. The stick makes it a bit more challenging to remove the hot dog, giving the trap some time to do its work.
The cage that you buy should be about 30 to 40 long and at least 12 inches tall. Purchasing a cat cage is the best way to measure the right size to trap a possum. The cage should be made of steel since possums have sharp teeth that can tear right through soft materials.
What do baby possums eat?
Baby possums can be as small as honeybees. They’re hardly considered a pest, but they can eat cockroaches and other bugs that roam around your house. They also enjoy the following foods:
- Slugs
- Snails
- Small rodents
- Frogs
- Plants
- Fruit
- Grain
- Almost any other dead animal
- Dog and cat food
- Table scraps
It’s safe to say that possums of all ages love to eat virtually anything. They’ll even eat the skeleton of a dead animal that other pests left behind. Baby possums always stay near their mother for the first few months of their lives. Whatever the mother brings to the table, they’ll eat.
Baby possums have a diet that calls for high amounts of calcium. This nutritional demand is why they’re so comfortable with eating bones and other leftovers that might seem repulsive to us. They’re far too young to hunt on their own, and they don’t have the power to fight live prey.
It’s almost guaranteed that young possums eat dead prey or fruit that’s fallen from a tree. They don’t have enough energy to climb trees, chase an animal, or digest an entire full-sizes rodent. They’ll settle for pretty much anything that they can get their mouths on.
Do possums eat cats?
Possums don’t like to be the aggressor when they’re dealing with other animals. They’re about the size of the average house cat, but they still don’t want to eat cats as a quick source of food. In fact, the only time a possum will eat a cat is if they’re already dead, in most cases.
A possum would rarely attack a cat or dog. They’d more likely dart away to find safety before they engaged in any conflict. That being said, a possum can quickly turn vicious if they feel that they’re being cornered or attacked.
If you notice that your pet is playing with a possum, call them away immediately. Never try to get in the middle of the interact. Possums can carry diseases, and they’re known to scratch and bite anything that gets too close to them.
If you’re still concerned about the well-being of your cat, you should wait until they’re fully grown to let them play outside alone. Small kittens might be easy prey for a large possum, although it’s still not common.
The best course of action would be to call a local pest control company. They’ll remove the possum without causing any harm to your pets, relieving you from the worry of an attack. Some companies release possums into the wild to preserve the species.
Do possums eat squirrels?
Possums eat prey that’s smaller than them. They’re not going to attack another animal that’s their same size. Since full-grown squirrels are rather large in comparison, possums will often stay away from them. However, they’ll certainly eat a squirrel if it’s dead or injured.
If a possum stumbles across a nest of baby squirrels without its parents around, then they’ll probably eat the babies. They’re also known to consume nests of baby birds, as well as the eggs from the nest.
The only time that a possum will intentionally attack a full-grown squirrel is if they feel attacked themselves. Again, possums don’t like to be cornered or trapped. If a squirrel gets too close, a possum might bite in self-defense.
Squirrels are skittish. If you’re wondering whether or not a possum will scare them away, it’s very likely. Squirrels don’t like to be confronted, and they usually run into hiding. Possums are great to have around if you want to scare squirrels and other small rodents away from your home.
Do possums eat mosquitoes?
Yes! Among all of the other bugs that possums love to eat, mosquitos are near the top of the list alongside ticks. The only issue is that possums have a hard time reaching mosquitos that are flying around. They often stick to the larvae and mosquitos that have landed.
As you can see, possums are actually much more of a cleanup crew than a pest. Sure, they might tear up the garbage every once in a while, but they’re also cutting down on the bugs, rodents, dead fruit, and roadkill around the neighborhood. As long as you don’t corner them or attack them, you’ll have no problems with possums at all.
Conclusion
Possums might be helpful, but you might be worried about their presence as well. They can carry rabies, which can be a potentially deadly disease that winds you up in the hospital. Remember that you can trap a possum with sweetbread, hot dogs, and aniseed oil on bread.
Whether you want to rid them from your neighborhood or you’re curious about the benefits of having possums nearby, these are the key takeaways from the article:
- Possums will eat just about anything if it’s dead.
- You can trap a possum with a cage that’s 30 x 12 inches.
- Possums won’t attack cats, dogs, or humans unless they feel cornered or threatened.
- Possums will eat ticks, mosquitos, slugs, snails, and other bugs around your house.
- If there are possums in the area, keep your garbage cans secured and the dog and cat food hidden.
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