I apologize for the next comment regarding the above post from Goldfinch4:

I gotta admit, Bev, I snickered too!

Yes, they can play dead for quite awhile. Actually until they feel danger is passed.

Bev....waiting for that comment!

My comment was the rolling on the ground laffing but my DH's comment was that the baby possum learned from its mother about playing dead but forgot what she said about dodging cars...

webesemps said:My comment was the rolling on the ground laffing but my DH's comment was that the baby possum learned from its mother about playing dead but forgot what she said about dodging cars...

Now y'all have me wondering if the baby 'possums we tried to raise when we were children really did die, or if my mom just told us that so she could finally get them out of her house!
Their mother had been dispatched by a car...


Groundhog issues here, too. I've been reading along, trying to decide if I have enough time and energy to mount an assault.

Well, I too thought about the playing dead aspect, but there were flies on it and it appeared to have rigor mortise. I dumped it out of the trap and let it alone for awhile, but it was truly dead, I wrapped it in a couple of grocery bags and put it in the trash bin for pickup. It wasn't breathing at all.

I think it might have decided to play dead, like they do, but being an especially stupid one, forgot to wake up until it was already dead.

Okay, now I am hurting from laughing.

Tsk. Shame on you guys. No respect for the lives of wildlife.

Ok, I managed to keep a straight face the whole time I was typing that. Snork!

twitcher said:I think it might have decided to play dead, like they do, but being an especially stupid one, forgot to wake up until it was already dead.

He didn't listen to his mom either!!

Ok, I baited the trap the last two days with canned corn, including a path leading up to the hole. Each day, every bit of the corn was gone, but the trap not set off. I'm wondering if the %$^*#% robins like canned corn.

Speaking of the winged rats, I accidentally left a small hole in the bird net covering my two bearing blueberry bushes. One bush had been completely harvested but the other bush had about half the berries left. The @#$@^$# birds found the hole and ate every single blueberry in one day. I was going to pick them the next day, but too late.

On the GH front, the property owners apparently cut grass earlier today and also cleaned brush away from the GH hole near our property. I was going to bait the trap again, but appears the neighbors have filled in the GH hole. Not sure if they removed the pests (or otherwise did them in) or just locked them in for a time.

Twitch, your days have been days, haven't they? Sorry about that!

I would think they could open the hole back up. But with luck on your side the owners may have done the critters in.
Sorry about the winged rats.

Oh my...I so needed to catch up on this thread today....thanks all for taking me away from my pity party

It appears I may need to dust off my trap and get out the corn....

I went out my front door a little while ago, and a GH ran out from under my small front porch deck. The deck is only about 5 x 7 and covers an ugly cement slab thing under it... I looked but didn't see any digging -- YET -- so maybe I scared the *#$^(#*%# off before he got any ideas.

Sorry to report my neighbor saw a gh today on the other side of the house.

Back to the trap for you twit.

Oh Juli, so hope it doesn't stick around. Definitely wouldn't hurt to put out a trap, before it starts a family.