Thread: Angry Possums.... in a cage

I ran into this problem with my cage traps, with the possum hanging on and refusing to come out. A good while ago now I had a .22 bullet ricochet off a rock in the soil under the trap, that was enough to convince me there had to be a better way.

So I took an angle grinder with a thin cutting disc and cut a narrow slot in the wire mesh so that a good sized diving knife can be slotted through the top of the cage. About 3mm of steel removed from three squares, just enough that the knife moves freely up and down, but doesn’t flop about. One slot 3 squares back from each end of the trip and one in the middle one row of squares back from the cage handle. The knife can now be pressed home freely and with force. It has a razor sharp point and blade, which is long enough to almost reach the bottom of the cage before the guard hits the top of the cage and stops the thrust.

I kneel next to the trap with the knife in position and wait for the animal to settle down and position itself with its neck under one of the slots. I will gently encourage it to move into position with a length of bamboo stake. A swift execution follows with a sharp downward thrust. Every possum, rat and cat caught in those cages since this mod have been dispatched very cleanly with a swift stab straight through the spine. This is not a particularly pleasant way to do things but it sure as hell works. Most possums come out of the trap with the head dangling from the rest of the body on a flap of skin.

On the odd occasion I have been known to open the trap and leave it on the lawn whilst sitting back a good distance with two Staffordshire Bull Terriers held by the collar. Possum or rat’s dash for freedom can be measured in fractions of seconds. Nuff said.