Hard shell possums

[dun]

This morning in noticed in a back pasture that the HSP have been tearing it up retty bad. Around here the #1 predator for them are vehicles. What method other then that can I use to either, trap them, call them in (like coyotes) or drive them off?

dun

 

[TLCfromARK]

When they get too bad around the place I cruise the pastures late in the afternoon and use my .22 Mag, good target practice. A few years ago I magna-tized 42 of them over about a two week time, this was on my place and brother's and Dad's places. The buzzards loved possum on the half shell. Haven't seen too many since, 2 or 3 a year.

;-)

 

[sidney411]

Are you talking about armadillos?

 

[Craig-TX]

Not sure this is what you’re looking for but I do know for a scientific fact that the HSP has only one natural enemy which is a wetback with a grubbing hoe.

The best time to plink them is late evening after a rain. The ground is soft and they can root for grubs and roots easier and they all seem to turn out for it. They show up so well in a Q-Beam they might as well have reflector paint on their shells.

Anytime I’m in the pickup or on the tractor and see one of their holes I make it a point to run over it. Not sure how many I get that way but it does give me that warm feeling…

Craig-TX

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

About 150 years ago when I was a kid I went to a summer band camp in the Texas hill country. We had a watermelon eating party on the tennis court one evening and then went inside for a program. Upon leaving the building we noticed MANY 'dillos on the tennis court feasting on the left over watermelon. With that sight etched in my mind I've recommended watermelon to a number of my city friends as a good bait for the 'dillos ---and virtually every person has reported that they were able to pretty quickly catch them in the "have-a-heart" traps when baited with watermelon. If I really had a problem with them on my little ranchito I'd bust up a bunch of watermelons about an hour before sunset and then stand by with my favorite varmint rifle.

 

[cherokeeruby]

Be careful handling them they are carriers of Leprosy.

Have lots around here haven't caused any trouble that I a aware of, the holes they dig are tiny. Now wild hogs are a different matter.

 

[dun]

Be careful handling them they are carriers of Leprosy.

Have lots around here haven't caused any trouble that I a aware of, the holes they dig are tiny. Now wild hogs are a different matter.

The hoels aren't the real problem, it's the raw dirt that then sprouts up with pure weeds instead of the stuff that should be growing there.

AZ - I'll give that a shot, pun intended!

dun

 

[J Baxter]

I used to have a walker hound that was hell on the things. He would jump them, they'd roll up, he'd roll them over and tear the guts out of them. I sure miss that dog.

Now I tend to resort to the .22 mag and spotlight route.

Try to pull one out of his hole the next time you get the opportunity. Them there critters are stout.

JB

 

[hillbilly]

About 150 years ago when I was a kid I went to a summer band camp in the Texas hill country. We had a watermelon eating party on the tennis court one evening and then went inside for a program. Upon leaving the building we noticed MANY 'dillos on the tennis court feasting on the left over watermelon. With that sight etched in my mind I've recommended watermelon to a number of my city friends as a good bait for the 'dillos ---and virtually every person has reported that they were able to pretty quickly catch them in the "have-a-heart" traps when baited with watermelon. If I really had a problem with them on my little ranchito I'd bust up a bunch of watermelons about an hour before sunset and then stand by with my favorite varmint rifle.

Here's a plan;
Raid the local watermelon patch, steal a truckload bring them back and smash them on the road in front of your farm.
Then just put it on autopilot.
Should be two dozen dead ones on the road by the next AM

Hillbilly

 

[ollie]

My old neighbor woman calls the plural form armadillion. No joke. Everyone knows it's armadillirs.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

My hog dogs get plum sorry for catching hogs once they start messing with armys. I guess the things are repulsive to dogs. Dogs will forget all about the hogs if they find a hole and literally dig the thing up and play dirty rag with it.

 

[dun]

My hog dogs get plum sorry for catching hogs once they start messing with armys. I guess the things are repulsive to dogs. Dogs will forget all about the hogs if they find a hole and literally dig the thing up and play dirty rag with it.

So far my herding dog (Cardigan Welsh Corgi) hasn't shown any interst in them. But boy does she love the chase the field rats. They're more her size. Her favorites seem to be field rats, treats and fresh cow pies to roll in, in reverse order of preference

dun

 

[dun]

I had alwasy seen HSPs just kind of shuffling along. I discovered that with adequate incentive they can really cover some ground and they have some pretty tricky moves too. In this case the adequate incentive was someone trying to run it down with a brush hog.

dun

 

[J Baxter]

The things are darn near blind. The next time you get a shower, sneak up slowly behind one and tap him with something. They'll jump straight up about 5 feet and tear out there like a mule with a hot sweet tater stuck well you know.

 

[dun]

The things are darn near blind. The next time you get a shower, sneak up slowly behind one and tap him with something. They'll jump straight up about 5 feet and tear out there like a mule with a hot sweet tater stuck well you know.

Never having stuck a hot sweet tater anywhere, least of all in a mule, I'll just have to take your word for it that it is fast.

dun

 

[samm]

in town we use cheap cat food from the dollar store and bait the live traps and we catch armadillos and possums, and we have caught skunks.
but at home our dogs keep them away, usually. at the farm i don't notice them
but we do have a problem with wild hogs tearing the ground up, i think were going to get a trap this winter and catch us some hogs

 

[texasmortgageman]

Van Zandt county was paying $7.00 per pair of ears for feral hogs. They may have run out of money though.