Originally Posted by
Flyblown
Two Staffordshire Bull Terriers waiting at the bottom of the tree is an effective method to ensure minimal suffering... Tends to result in partially pucked possums though.
Sorry. Now Angus I get what you’re saying, the cosh / priest is a standard issue tool for this kind of work and you shouldn’t really be operating without one. But as we know possums are nasty critters, and a welding glove or similar is an advisable item to wear when handling wounded and angry possums, see below. Grab ‘em under the shoulders around the rib cage, hold them upside down, one sharp thwack to the back of the head with the cosh, job done.
Now there is an alternative to this and that is to spear them. Sounds OTT I know but it works. You can make a stabbing spear out of all sorts of material, trick is to ensure you have a decent handle with which to control the positioning of the point and to apply adequate pressure. I have an electric fence pigtail post here with a very sharp end, it is perfect for the job.
All the user has to do is press firmly on the handle end and push the point through the possums’s neck all the way through the spine and into the ground. It is all over in a second. No handling, no yukkie noises, no struggling, quick and easy.
Having been bitten by a possum and ended up in Thames A&E with a nasty finger infection that started to move down through the hand into the wrist with accompanying pain and bad smell, it is strongly advised not to get bitten in the first place.