Critters At Muse's Acres

We have been having problems with some sort of a critter digging big holes in the lawn and tearing up the flower beds. The best guess was an armadillo. All the experts said try strong odors to drive them away, but to totally be rid of them you have to shoot them. Yuck!

So we spread moth balls all over. Drove us away, but not the digging critters. So Gary started taking the two dogs out each night to see if Othello, the pit bull could catch the critter. Last year Othello caught an armadillo and played with it for a while. You know, rolling it around. The next day it was gone. The nightly digging continued.

This year the digging is worse, more and bigger holes. The dogs continue to go armadillo hunting nightly, Two nights ago my husband came in to say that Othello had gotten the digger. Of course I had to go luck. No armadillo - a opossum! It had big fangs, lots of teeth and long claws and looked dead. I went out a little later for a closer look. It was beginning to breath again! I hurried back in to tell Gary the thing wasn't dead. He said it would probibly die over night after the shaking that Othello had given it. I went out one more time cause I just wasn't sure - it was breathing deeper and it seemed to look at me. I went back in the house and announced it was alive. Gary said to wait til tomorrow to see if it lives or dies.

Next morning the opossum was gone. I looked them up on the net and found that they "play possum" until the attacker leaves then they leave. So we had been fooled by an ugly toothy creature.

The next night during the armadillo hunt Othello got a opossum again. Not sure if it was the same or another on. Same story with this opossum, Othello shook it then left it alone. Breathing returned so Gary and Josh, 14 year old grandson had to kill it by dropping the cement top to a bird bath on it's head. It was dead this time as it was still there in the morning.

Not the best thing to write about, but the holes were becoming hazardous and damaging. Tonight we'll see if the death of one will keep others away. Life in the country can be cruel.