A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall The Critter Corner Dead Opposums

We have found 4 dead opposums (and a rat) in our back yard this week. All at different times. I saw one on the back fence about a week ago during the day, then the rest started showing up dead. It's really disgusting! I hope that was the last one that I just cleaned up.

It sounds like someone in your neighborhood is poisoning them.
I am glad it was in your yard and not under your house or in the attic. That is incredibly disgusting!

I left out the most disgusting parts. Do you think it's really poison? That's kind of sad and scary.

I do think poison. That is too many, too close in time and area to be anything much natural. You would prefer that to rabies or something else though. I did understand you left out the gross details. And I am glad you did.

We assumed rabies since I saw the first live one during the day. I hadn't really thought about poison. I just hope my dogs don't decide to taste. That would be my biggest concern. That, and neighborhood cats accidentally being poisoned. Why do they have to die in my yard?

Oh, I've so had my fill of bugs and dead things!! Please make it stop.

...because it must be a VERY close neighbor that is poisoning them. Hope you don't have any pets running loose...that's scary.

just a thought....
Any chance that someone (kids) are tossing them into your yard?
Have you reported this?

Good point !!!

Oh my gosh, you guys are scaring me. There is only one likely possibility then. Our backyard neighbor hates us for no apparent reason. I have seen him fire pellet guns at birds eating the fish from his pond and opossums on the fence.

What am I supposed to do? Who do I report to and what do I report? There is no way I am starting a war with this guy, not having any evidence and even if I did, I would be too afraid for my dogs and the rest of us to know what to do.

I do agree that you cannot point fingers without any proof. I do believe I would report this to my local animal control. Then if another pops up in your yard, they may want to take it for some research or something.

I will be searching the yard several times a day now. Hopefully I don't find another one, but if I do, hopefully it will be in good enough condition to recover it. I will try animal control in that case, though they have so much to do here with so little money I doubt they will be interested.

Thanks y'all, for caring. You are awesome!
~Beth~

Yikes, what a thing to deal with.

It would still be better to report it, that way if this continues it is documented. How sad for you to have to deal with this

Personally, if I didn't like my neighbors....I'd be throwing them back into their yard to deal with

Nothing new yesterday or today. Hopefully that was the end of it. I have no way of knowing if anything intentional was done and I'm not willing to risk my family's or pet's safety since they are armed so we'll just hope that was it. The stress of having mean neighbors makes me sick to my stomach every day. Funny though, everyone else is very kind and pleasant.

I think I will give animal control a call, just to make a note of it if they care, without any implications.

Thanks again everyone!

Please do that....

yea, what Bill said---