Hi, Mr. Nature here–and you do not have to do what these people do to get a possum out of your garbage can.
This morning when I went out to ride my bike, I discovered two young possums sleeping in one of our garbage cans–which means they climbed in to get something nice and disgusting and then couldn’t climb out.
Really, all you have to do is gently turn the can over on its side and then leave them alone. They’ll just get up and leave. You don’t have to freak them out by kicking the bottom of the can.
Another time, I went to put a bag in the can and spotted a very, very big possum inside it. Very, very dead, too. Oh, spiffy. You know how road-killed animals get all stiff and flat after a while? This possum looked like it had been dead for several days.
Well, I couldn’t just leave it there. I tipped it out of the can–
And it got up, hissed at me, and ran away!
“Playing possum” can be quite convincing.
What a rude awakening for a little creature.
We had a dreadful time getting an opossum out of a garbage can once. I had forgotten to take the trash to the curb the evening before and now the trash men were slowly coming down Roxborough with their stinky truck. I just happened to see the little fella (or gal) nesting comfortably in the trash in my can. What to do? What to do? I tilted the can over on its side but the opossum as still as a dead one. I had to resort to a broom and swept out most of the trash to get the animal out of there. He or she was not happy with me but he or she soon scooted off while I quickly swept the trash back into the can. And here was the stinky truck right in front of my house. I quickly got the can down to one of the men. That opossum just didn’t appreciate how I saved him from a sudden squishy death! Whew!