These possums aren’t playin’

By Amanda Casanova

The Daily News

Published October 17, 2010

GALVESTON — Vincent Sorrentino thought it was a mouse. But when the island native stuck his head in a dark plumbing access hole in a closet at his house, it wasn’t a mouse staring back at him.

It was a hissing opossum.

“That thing scared me,” he said. “Those things hiss and show their teeth at you. It was probably three feet from me and then it just disappeared under the beams, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh no.’”

When Sorrentino posted his animal troubles on Facebook, he received numerous responses from area residents also at odds with a furry nighttime intruder.

“We’re just trying everything, and everyone has some advice for us,” Sorrentino said. “And everybody is catching them but us.”

Sorrentino put out a live trap for the animal, but the tuna bait has lured only the same cat twice in two nights.

He even used a bottle of coyote urine, but the smelly repellent hasn’t helped scare off the nighttime creature either.

“What we have to understand is that these animals were here long before we built houses, and we’ve taken their habitat,” said Kim Schoolcraft, animal services manager for the Galveston County Health District.

Sorrentino said he would try the trap a few more nights before he calls the city for help.

The animal services unit of the Galveston Police Department provides trapping services for residents.

Once caught, if the animal is sick and unable to be rehabilitated, it is euthanized, said Lt. Joel Caldwell, who is in charge of the unit. If the sick animal can be treated, it is taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center, and if the possum or raccoon is healthy, it is moved.

“After the hurricane, it seems we’re getting more calls on them,” he said. “I’m guessing it’s because the floodwaters have chased these guys out of their habitat, and they’re moving into the city.”

While the animal services unit does not track animal captures, Caldwell said the biggest raccoon caught weighed about 20 pounds and large possums range from 10 to 12 pounds.

When captured, Schoolcraft said possums will open their mouth, bare their teeth and hiss, but “that’s about it.” Possums will then slump into a stiff position, feigning death and “playing possum.”

But it’s the masked bandit that residents should handle with caution, Schoolcraft said.

“Raccoons can be dangerous,” she said. “Once they’ve taken up residence in their home, it’s their home and they’ll protect it. If you do trap one, know that they can bite.”

The nocturnal creatures are scouting for food and sleep, Schoolcraft said, and the best way to rid your household of the animals is to remove those attractions by picking up trash and food in the yard and securing the house.

“In my home, I use cayenne pepper,” she said. “I had raccoons and I put some pepper around the bottom where he was trying to get in. He’ll get that on his paws, lick it, and it’s going to be a bad experience for him, and he’ll remember it.”

For persistent furry intruders, live animal traps are available at feed and sporting goods stores for about $40.

“People need to respect wildlife,” Schoolcraft said. “They have a purpose on this earth. Possums, for example, eat roaches, small mice and snakes. I think I’d rather have a possum than a snake around. We’re all intertwined on this earth. We need to respect them and find a way to live with them.”

Residents can call the animal services unit at 409-765-3702 or Galveston County animal services at 409-948-2485 to report problems.

News Media: For more information contact Kurt Koopmann, GCHD Public Information Officer, 409-938-2211 or kkoopman@gchd.org)