Hello everyone .
I live in country and in last month or so I started noticing weird droppings around my house. Can somebody help me to figure out who left them?
I know we have mice on area , but it is way too big for mice . And I have toads around my porch every evening, but I don't think this is it either.
Please See pic below.
Looks like a possum to me. Do you have anything out they can be eating? Which could be nearly anything. LOL We had one for a pet. They make great pets. That looks like it would be a young one.
it is possible - droppings are all close to the house within few feet of grill ...Its just I have never seen possum around here. I mean we have it all - chipmunks, racoons, mice , rats (I think) , squirrells, moles ....the droppings around the house is something new .
Should I expect any damage from possum?
BTW , the fur on the background of the pic came from my dog , not from the animal in question .
They shouldn't cause any problem unless you have horses. They are not destructive like squirrels and they can't get into things like a coon can. They also don't carry rabies. They will only fight if pushed into a corner and can't do anything else. They will tear up the garbage looking for food but securing the lid and can will take care of that.
And, as a last resort defense mechanism, they will barf on your dog when cornered. Opossum puke could be sold as a great weapon IMO. You will wish your dog had never met an opossum. To me, it is far worse of a smell than skunk, which doesn't bother me much.
I think buzzard barf tops possum puke for nasty ~ LOL We get toad poop on the front porch. It is looser and when dry will crumble easily. This doesn't quite resemble processed bugs.
I was slow to figure out what I was finding in the birdfeeders. Possums were eating the sunflower seeds and regurgitating the hulls. Not quite as nasty as puke.
What am I doing looking at possum poop this a.m.!!! LOL
I was actually going to say toads. I have found poop from them at my place the other animals you have mentioned have bigger poop, like a small dog.
Lisa
I have also raised possums and agree this looks like a young one. Reptiles and amphibians usually leave a two-toned dropping, with a white end that contains the urea.
Possums are adorable and will eat snails and slugs (among other things).
Meanwhile, I have raccoons visiting my mature compost at night. They are fetching out the earthworms and washing them in a nearby water bowl. Every morning I have to wash to mud out of the water bowl. I would be mad at them for taking the earthworms, but they're doing a great job of keeping the compost aerated!
I feel the same about the armadillos here. They till for grubs and loosen the compacted soil. I rarely find a plant that they have damaged, only uprooted them. The plants always recover. I believe all things in nature are necessary... Some (snakes) I'd rather keep at a distance tho.
Or this guy--helpful, but ya gotta respect their space.
Is that a banana spider?
I think that's a girl. If its like the ones we have here (we just call them garden spiders) they mate then the male dies or they kill it. The females make an egg sack each time they mate I have seen them have 5 five egg sacks on one web.
Lisa
Girls just wanna have fun.
Aww, I love having possums around. They are really quite gentle and sweet, even wild ones, though being wild they will not be interested in humans. I have a few stray cats that I feed, especially in the winter, and the possums come up to the patio now and then to nibble on the dry cat food. They don't even mind the cats. In fact, one night last winter we had a mix of snow and ice and rain coming down, and I had built a little shelter area for the cats out of some wood and my patio chairs, complete with blankets etc....I went out later to see how it was holding up, and a possum was in there with them! Not snuggling with them of course, but definitely sharing the space out of the wind and wet.
Unfortunately, when you leave out food for one critter, lots of others show up - besides the possum and the cats, we also have raccoons and a mostly white skunk who stop by for a snack. Might bother some people, but I love animals and love having them around.
(yes, we have trapped and spayed/nuetered the cats)
Good for you!!! I appreciate the trapping, spaying and neutering as well as the feeding. I wish more folks felt that responsibility. Thank you...
All our barn cats are actually feral cats. We have always felt that trapping and fixing the ferals has a double value in population control: no reproduction plus a stable group of resident cats to repel future feline immigrants. They can't be handled but they are better than average mousers.
A good barn cat is worth it's weight in gold.
Yes, I've never understood why TSC (among others) sells dog supplies tax free if you're ag-exempt but not cat stuff. Our dogs are totally useless on the farm while the cats earn their keep.
Here in Ky. (of all places) horses are not considered farm animals. Go figure.
Horses' farm status varies by county in Texas. We're in Fort Bend. Our horses are farm animals. In nearby Brazoria they are not!
But I'm sure they wouldn't be allowed as pets in the subdivisions where they are not "farm animals". It's a conspiracy, I tell ya! :)
My neighborhood possums have discoverd the kitty door in the garage and come into the garage and eat the cat food! I've also watched them climbing the grape arbor late at night and eating the grapes off of the top of the arbor - OK with me since I can't reach these grapes anyway. The one cat that used to visit me that I took to the vet and got fixed hardly ever comes around any more! I've been told that the males don't wander so much once they're fixed, so I think he's just staying home more - my friends say he's holding it against me! He's big and glossy now with far less scars and open wounds than he used to be, so I'm glad I did it.
Crap-
Hi this is being sent to all my patient customers so ur order has not shipped yet I am running a very successful business here and I will not tolerate this crap
att does not have a phone number u can call and talk to a live person I asked them
hello for the past 3 days i have been having issues with my internet provider AT & T they had 2
them repeatedly demanding immediate resolution and as they have my internet phone and TV i told them if a live person did not contact me within 5 minutes i would find a new provider they did not so by next week i will be using a new phone, TV and internet [providers after which i will catch up
thanks for your consideration
we shall see what I have been studing the net for the last 3 yrs yep
Bruce
this is being sent to anyone in my address book as i will be deleting all entries because i don’t remember who most are
I am also finding there is absolutely no way to contact anyone from att w/o answering a million questions since I am not able to get an answer from att someone will it is what it is it just doesn’t matter
funnyfarmherbs, did you mean to post your above comment in your Dmail system? I see you sell in the Market Place so perhaps that is where your post would be better seen by your customers (or thru your Dmail). I don't believe anyone will see it hidden away in a Homesteading Forum about possums.
Hope you get things ironed out.
Shoe
This is a strange tale but I think 1lisac is going to be correct about the poop in question coming form a toad. The other evening I was watching a rather large toad in the garden to see if it would shoot its tongue out and eat something. While I was intent on this he pooped. Yep, his poop is identical to the image and very close to the same size.
Now you have an eyewitness account and I can add the experience to my short list of things I’ve seen that most other people haven’t. {=0P
I'm not sure I feel exactly deprived...
Hey, I get my accolades where I find them. LOL I don’t have a whole lot to brag about you know.
You better be careful too, I’m awake now. You missed some good cobbler too. lol
That just shows I know my s....! I can even tell the difference between deer and goat poop.
Another mystery solved.
