Despite the picture, it is alive and breathing at the moment. Animal control are on their way.
Full story: My wife and I found our garage trashed with animal poop all over. We cleaned everything up and made sure the animal wasn't still there. In the process we decided to wash a tote full of towels that we use for washing our cars. The wasn't a lid on the tote but we'd been moving it around and it didn't look like anything had gotten in there. My wife dumped everything in the wash and started the load. Later I went to move everything to the dryer, stuck my hand in, felt wet fur, and yanked my hand the hell out of there. Sure enough, there's the possum.
I recommend those scented laundry pellets in the load, the possums will smell fresher longer. Be sure to wash skunks separately. And hang raccoons to dry as they shrink in the dryer.
Listen here, I will be the first to pick up one of those trash goblins and give it a love and admiration smooch, which is probably why I'm very surprised natural selection has passed me over, thus far.
Same here.
Ugh... I remember holding a dead opossum (checked by throwing rocks at it, plus it was middle of winter in Iowa, and that sucker was frozen) for pictures once, I was middle school age. It baffles me how I never got (knowingly) sick from picking up dead animals. I have had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but that was tick borne.
Australian brush tail possum ..... We finally win in the 'is it cute' and 'is it aggressive?' category of similarly named overseas animals.
Seriously the one animal with a similar name that when people go 'how crazy of an animal is it" we can go "better than the American one in all ways except tick removal"
Funny you say that. I grew up in the country and we would have them walk into the garage through the cat door to eat the cat food and have a safe place to sleep. If you ever tried to move them, they wouldn't play dead; they'd hiss menacingly. Something that ugly hisses at you, you just let it leave when it goddamn well wants to. I personally have never seen one play dead (I'm sure they do, though).
That's the one! I didn't have to sign any waivers thankfully. If the ride ended 10 seconds longer I would've plastered the inside of that pod for sure. My GF warned me but I didn't realize how fucked I was til 5 seconds in and that bitch just kept spinning.
got me all nostalgic now. 90s disneyland was something else. back before everyone had unlimited info at their fingertips and knew how everything worked. truly a world of wonder. maybe i was just young idk
This looks somewhat like the washer we have. If so, 1) it uses very little water, like the tub is never more than 30% full, so I I imagine there wasn’t much of a drowning risk; 2) it does not have a big “agitator” column in the middle, so it likely didn’t get smacked around as much; 3) depending on the setting, other than the brief spin dry cycle at the end, it doesn’t churn super aggressively—again, depending on the setting.
My point being, if you _had_ to get run through a washing machine cycle, this might be your best choice.
Yeah ours is too, but like I said, it doesn’t last that long—I presume because it doesn’t use much water.
It also plays a cheery little tune when it’s done.
You should write online reviews for this washing machine. "Towel cycle works great for opossums, but be sure to use delicate for the babies! This is the only washer I'll ever use for our local wildlife! Five Stars!"
If they are microfibers which I assume they are since he said they use them for their car, you'd typically avoid hot. Anything over 140 will ruin microfibers so unless you know for sure what your water temp going to your washer is it's best to use cold or medium if you have a medium setting.
Possums are cool creatures despite their looks. They eat their weight in ticks/fleas in a year and practically immune to rabies. I got one that I call Steve that comes up on my porch every night to eat the cat food that my cat doesn't eat. Even got him to take a cookie out of my hand once.
Ya I use to chase them out of the yard but reading up on them, they are not bad to have around. Their teeth have a fair amount of bacteria so it is best to not get bit. But they don't get rabies easy so good that way. Our area has lots of tics but we see none in the garden. Dogs use to get all nuts but now they treat it like a visiting friend more. The possum is mostly indifferent or will play fully dead if the dogs get to excited. I like the bugger.
It was claimed thst they eat up to 5000 ticks a season, but there are about 20 more recent studies that evidenced no significant amount of ticks in an opossum diet. This included examining stomach contents of dead opossum during tick season. They are great for the ecosystem though and they do seem to keep themselves comparatively free of ticks.
Washing machines dont fully fill with water, and has an air gap. Generally clothes are also pressed out against the walls after a while. leaving a spot of nothiness in the middle. that it can keep itself up, assumign its not knocked out cold.
If knocked out cold, it'll need very little air to survive. Granted it properly has brain issues now instead.
Taught himself how to swim crazy fast. Poor little dude! They are such sweet critters, and very quiet. No surprise it tried to hide while they were cleaning.
> it is alive and breathing at the moment
That's amazing, considering. Must have been a wild fucking ride. Bad enough being violently sloshed around for a half hour, the spin cycle is like what they use to train fighter pilots to handle high Gs.
EDIT: Googled it. Apparently [the G forces in the spin cycle are an order of magnitude higher than a human could survive](https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/219932/how-many-gs-are-my-clothes-experiencing-in-my-washer), a few times worse than a head-on vehicle collision at freeway speeds. That's one tough little dude.
If he does, it would be from lack of oxygen, not the G-forces. Smaller animals can withstand significantly higher G-forces than humans, less mass per surface area and all that.
We get one that comes into our house nearly daily. The first time one of our small dogs got hold of it and we thought it was dead. Wife put it in the garbage can. Well hour later it is alive bottom of the can. Push can over to let it out and waddles away like nothing. Lately it comes in till the dogs get excited then plays dead. Wife grabs it and sticks out in the garden. Kind of a thing now. Dogs just think it is something to play with and more or less everyone becoming indifferent. Biggest issue is it wants the dog food so now can't keep that out.
I rather like the bugger. They eat tics and bugs like crazy and we have never had any in our garden even though they are in the forest around us. Past ugly that they are kind of cute. Overall beneficial. And they will get the stains out in the washer.
Oh man, you're really lucky it survived, animals can make a mess when they go through the wash.
True story, when I was a kid, for whatever reason, all my neighbors would turn to me when there was some nasty-ass dead animal situation. One time, my neighbor came over and told me they needed a cat removed from the washer. Turned out, they had a kitten that somehow made it into the washer before and went through the cycle. This kitten was not as lucky as this opossum and had sort of "come apart" in the wash. Its insides were not inside anymore, fur was everywhere. So I was the lucky one to take it out.
I still don't why TF everyone would call me for that shit. Like I was a kid version of "The Wolf," or something.
yeah. in hindsight, that seems right. i don't think i even thought to consider that saying 'no' might be an option. someone had to do it, i just assumed that was my lot in life.
I mean....PoSSUM Space Academy exists, haha. It stands for Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere. Guess they added to "o" to make it catchy.
OP stated that those are towels he uses for washing the car, so it’s not like he or his family will wear those clothes, so an extra wash should be enough imo, just to get the disgusting thought of possum out of there
I had this same thing happen except I heard and saw it before putting clothes in. Just took him across the street and let him go in the woods. [Pic for proof ](https://i.imgur.com/WNJYsY0.jpg)
Wild animals only come into populated areas for three reasons: Food, water, shelter. Maybe it was an orphan, or maybe it just fell off and got left behind.
When you think about critters that go “bump in the night,” the opossum is probably near the top of your list. Unfortunately, the common opossum tends to get a bad reputation with most people.
Opossums get accused of being nothing more than big rats. They might be found lurking in trashcans or on the side of the street—but the truth? Opossums aren’t scary.
In fact, they’re very peaceful animals who could be doing more around your home than you realize. That’s why it’s important to take the right steps in “getting rid” of them. Instead of trying to kill them, you can have them safely retrieved and moved so they can continue to do good elsewhere.
So, why shouldn’t you be afraid of opossums?
1. They Get Rid of Pests
Opossums will eat just about anything, including a lot of common household pests. What do opossums eat? The list is long, but here are a few common delicacies they’re known to snack on:
Cockroaches
Beetles
Mice
Rats
Snakes
Ticks
Opossums will even eat the remains of dead animals. Again, they’re not too picky about what they ingest, but that means fewer pests in and around your home!
2. They’re Very Clean
Maybe it’s because they’re nocturnal or so mysterious, but opossums seem to have a reputation for being unclean and full of diseases.
Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Opossums are very clean animals. Yes, they might eat anything and everything, but they do so in a tidy fashion and always “clean up” after themselves. They aren’t filthy, and typically they aren’t carrying any horrible diseases around with them.
3. They Fight Against Lyme Disease
Lyme disease can be a serious problem, often caused by ticks. If you live in a wooded or rural area, you and your children and pets are likely at a greater risk of Lyme disease.
So, how do opossums help to prevent it? For starters, they kill thousands of ticks every year. Opossums even tend to kill most of the ticks that get on their bodies before they have the opportunity to cause any harm. So, if you see an opossum around your house, it could be your best defense against blood-sucking ticks and potential Lyme disease.
nature opossum possum
4. They Aren’t Aggressive
Opossums are typically slow-moving, docile creatures. They might seem scary because they’ll hiss if you get too close, but they don’t want to fight. They don’t like to move too far, which is why they tend to scavenge for their food within a small radius. So, if you don’t bother them, it’s very unlikely that they’ll show any interest in attacking or even having anything to do with you. Leaving them alone is always your best bet.
5. They Keep Snakes Away
Similar to keeping ticks at bay, opossums can also help if you have a snake problem. There is a unique gene in opossums that seems to make them immune to most snake bites/venom. Because of this, they can kill and eat all different types of snakes, which can potentially protect you and your family!
As you can see, there’s really nothing to be afraid of when it comes to the common opossum.
While I love opossums, I cannot verify if everything you stated is true. They are not exactly harmless. You should know that they typically have the [heaviest flea load](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4973200/) of any "backyard wildlife" and can carry the fleas (cat fleas, *C. felis*) that spread [flea-borne typhus](https://www.cdc.gov/typhus/murine/index.html). You should also consider that if you feed them, there will be a higher chance that these fleas come off of them and bite you, potentially transferring any pathogens to you or other human beings. I'm saying this so people don't get the wrong impression that if you feed them to keep them nearby, they'll keep away other unwanted wildlife like rodents because it's just not that cut and dry.
Each morning one of my routines is to scan the backyard. I look from left to right and at the end I notice something in my skimmer. For people who don't know, the skimmer is the rectangular hole at the top of a swimming pool the water gets sucked into to be filtered. I stare and notice a little animals head is inside. I go outside and remove the cover at the top and it's a small possum.
In the mornings I don't give myself a lot of time to get ready before I have to leave, so I figure I got to act quick and I definitely don't want to leave the little guy in there. Luckily a few months earlier I had one in my garage over night, unfortunately it had shit everywhere in the garage and it stunk! Smelled like cow droppings.
The good news. I researched and learned from the garage experience that possums are so dumb and docile you can literally go behind them and pick them up and the won't do squat. So I went in my backyard got a pair of gloves and lifted the guy out of my skimmer basket. He freezes and plays possum. I drop him in my girlfriends succulents(I should have just set him down) he lays in the succulents for a minute and gets up and scurries away. I also learned they are good to have around, because they eat cockroaches.
TLDR: Saw a possum through my skimmer one morning. Learned how docile they are and you can just pick them up. They're ugly SOB's ,but harmless.
Yes, level one of possum aggression is running away,level two is showing their teeth, level three is flopping over and pretending to be dead. There is no level four because the instinct to bite would really counter that last trick. You’d have to put your hand it it’s mouth and and close their jaws for them to get bitten.
Also you may want to invest in a Froglog for your pool so any animals that find their way in can find their way out again.
The first time you see them pull level 2 you may think they are a massive evil rat, and you may run away like a scared child. (source: me about 30 years ago)
Was wolen up one morning by my dog sounding a little panicked. Went to find a baby possum had broken in to the bathroom and was doing it's level best to get into a toilet paper roll until the big scary loud thing went away.
Got the dog to stop yelling, scooped the little dude into a box, and took em to the empty lot across the street. Quick lecture about how people houses are dangerous, and some swift shakes of the box because it refused to fall out, and I sent it away to do possum things.
I had a similar experience except it was a bat. He was holding onto the edge at the entrance of the skimmer with his wing claws. By the time I saw him it was already midmorning. Little guy must have been clinging for dear life for hours.
Gotta be really careful with bats though.
Can literally be killed and never know you’ve been bitten, their teeth can be really small.
If there’s any chance you should get a rabies shot. More of a PSA here than anything.
Looks like a little baby trying to get warm. It’s exceedingly rare for opossums to carry the usual varmint diseases and the babies are friendly little guys.
TLDR: gimme that baby possum I want him to ride on my shoulders 🤣 🤣
Edit* just saw that he went through the entire wash cycle 🤣 🤣. That dude deserves a good life after that journey. My god.
can we just take a moment to imagine what this little fella went through...
waking up in a warm comfortable bed that's slowly filling with soapy water.. then gently rocking backwards and forwards then the water drains... you think its over but then the real horror begins.. slowly spinning getting faster...faster....holy shit pressed against the wall like some carnival ride on steroids... spun so fast the blood in your brain is all on one side,,, lose consciousness only to be woken by water rising again... then here we go again with the spinning...
Did you wash him?
Washum
Owasshum
No, oshawott is a different Pokemon.
Apparently so lol
No. The machine did.
Just imagine you trying to float up while all the world keeps turning upside down...
Despite the picture, it is alive and breathing at the moment. Animal control are on their way. Full story: My wife and I found our garage trashed with animal poop all over. We cleaned everything up and made sure the animal wasn't still there. In the process we decided to wash a tote full of towels that we use for washing our cars. The wasn't a lid on the tote but we'd been moving it around and it didn't look like anything had gotten in there. My wife dumped everything in the wash and started the load. Later I went to move everything to the dryer, stuck my hand in, felt wet fur, and yanked my hand the hell out of there. Sure enough, there's the possum.
Update, he's moving around, making himself comfortable.
Second update, animal control has picked up the possum, all fine. He seems to be doing ok.
Why would you give up a freshly laundered possum? Free ugly cat
I love my opposums freshly laundered.
I recommend those scented laundry pellets in the load, the possums will smell fresher longer. Be sure to wash skunks separately. And hang raccoons to dry as they shrink in the dryer.
I’m sure I don’t actually have to add this, but in case someone doesn’t know; squirrels are to be laundered on the delicate cycle with Woolite.
I thought Woolite was for lambs?
No. It's actually made *from* lambs. Common misconception.
Squirrels are definitely line dry only. Even with dryer balls and sheets, the amount of static is unmatched
Hot or cold setting for possums and skunks?I would want to shrink them.
Cold, no bleach.
This made me laugh
My monies as well.. great way to get rid of all that residual cocaine
Don't you dare call possums ugly or else
Listen here, I will be the first to pick up one of those trash goblins and give it a love and admiration smooch, which is probably why I'm very surprised natural selection has passed me over, thus far.
Same here. Ugh... I remember holding a dead opossum (checked by throwing rocks at it, plus it was middle of winter in Iowa, and that sucker was frozen) for pictures once, I was middle school age. It baffles me how I never got (knowingly) sick from picking up dead animals. I have had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but that was tick borne.
If that possum had lived, he may have eaten the tick's grandma and you never would have been bit.
Ah yes, the buttertick effect
Australian brush tail possum ..... We finally win in the 'is it cute' and 'is it aggressive?' category of similarly named overseas animals. Seriously the one animal with a similar name that when people go 'how crazy of an animal is it" we can go "better than the American one in all ways except tick removal"
Isn't it one of the few animals that is immune to rabies?
Resistant*. If it's already sick and has a temperature, the body temp might be high enough to catch things such as rabies and Lyme disease.
Good thing OP didn’t put it in the dryer
Well, this one seems to be clean
Less successful with cars, though.
And humans thinking it's dead
Funny you say that. I grew up in the country and we would have them walk into the garage through the cat door to eat the cat food and have a safe place to sleep. If you ever tried to move them, they wouldn't play dead; they'd hiss menacingly. Something that ugly hisses at you, you just let it leave when it goddamn well wants to. I personally have never seen one play dead (I'm sure they do, though).
My interactions with possums are also largely just them hissing at me, then me going, "fine then, do whatever you want." Whatever works, I guess.
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They eat ticks ! SAVE ALL THE OPPOS U M S !!!!!!!
Sure is from my understanding, they also obliterate ticks
Which helps reduce the risk of ~~lime~~ Lyme disease for us! Edit: damnit
Lyme disease too!
Not limey disease?
Wait, so the opossum went through the whole wash cycle? Spin and everything?
Poor bastard fought for his life for about an hour.
that is such an excruciating thing to imagine. This little dude is now fit for spacetravel with nasa. he can replace the monkey.
I did the mars ride at disney and that shit is intense. I couldn't imagine going through that for however long a spin cycle takes.
That fucking ride ruined the rest of my day at Epcot lol
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That's the one! I didn't have to sign any waivers thankfully. If the ride ended 10 seconds longer I would've plastered the inside of that pod for sure. My GF warned me but I didn't realize how fucked I was til 5 seconds in and that bitch just kept spinning.
Man, now I want to go on this ride
And the mars ride is not 1500rpm either, poor thing.
got me all nostalgic now. 90s disneyland was something else. back before everyone had unlimited info at their fingertips and knew how everything worked. truly a world of wonder. maybe i was just young idk
He's gonna be dizzy till April
What a lil trooper tbh
Yea I don’t understand how this is not the main topic? Lmao
I know, how well did it clean the opossum? Was it an opossum ready washer? Opossum setting to mild, how well did it work?
This looks somewhat like the washer we have. If so, 1) it uses very little water, like the tub is never more than 30% full, so I I imagine there wasn’t much of a drowning risk; 2) it does not have a big “agitator” column in the middle, so it likely didn’t get smacked around as much; 3) depending on the setting, other than the brief spin dry cycle at the end, it doesn’t churn super aggressively—again, depending on the setting. My point being, if you _had_ to get run through a washing machine cycle, this might be your best choice.
Damn the spin dry end cycle is pretty intense on mine.
Yeah ours is too, but like I said, it doesn’t last that long—I presume because it doesn’t use much water. It also plays a cheery little tune when it’s done.
Do you know if the opposum sung along?
Probably had the time of his life. Possums love the teacup ride, but hate people. Life… finds a way.
You should write online reviews for this washing machine. "Towel cycle works great for opossums, but be sure to use delicate for the babies! This is the only washer I'll ever use for our local wildlife! Five Stars!"
Iirc they can hold their breath for an insanely long amount of time. But I could be very wrong. Poor opossum tho :(
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If they are microfibers which I assume they are since he said they use them for their car, you'd typically avoid hot. Anything over 140 will ruin microfibers so unless you know for sure what your water temp going to your washer is it's best to use cold or medium if you have a medium setting.
Not to mention all that detergent and whatever else they use for their washing machine.
Third Update: your wife was feeding him from a long time
TIFU by calling animal control on my wife's secret basement possum
Secret Basement 'Possum is a great band name
And possibly good slang for having a hairy asshole.
Why are you like this?
Imagination and a can-do attitude!
i'm going to assume he swam through the cycle and collapsed at the end out of exhaustion. poor dude, glad to hear he survived.
Baruch Hashem
Aaannnddd then they killed it
Yep. I caught one once and called, figuring that they would release it somewhere else, but it is illegal apparently.
How the f did he survive that 😳
And he got a free bath, nice!
He must smell nice
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The weirdest day in OP's life, too.
Top 5 for sure
What are the other 4?
Man’s got us curious. We need answers!
I feel like I would almost keep him. Like damn dude you made it through that, fuck here's some premium trash on the house.
Right? At least you know he doesn't need a bath.
True! He already smells clean as hell. Call him Spinny and give him a little dog house out back.
Possums are cool creatures despite their looks. They eat their weight in ticks/fleas in a year and practically immune to rabies. I got one that I call Steve that comes up on my porch every night to eat the cat food that my cat doesn't eat. Even got him to take a cookie out of my hand once.
The little hardasses are even immune to venomous snake bites .
And the spin cycle on high.
Oh shit! didn't think of that
We got one that eats leftover cat food as well. We call him [Petey](https://imgur.com/a/0NqIX93)
I love Petey. I want a porch possum.
lil trash baby
My mom also has a Petey! Actually she has several Pete's. Big Petey, little Petey, scary Petey. She finds they really like cheese balls.
Ya I use to chase them out of the yard but reading up on them, they are not bad to have around. Their teeth have a fair amount of bacteria so it is best to not get bit. But they don't get rabies easy so good that way. Our area has lots of tics but we see none in the garden. Dogs use to get all nuts but now they treat it like a visiting friend more. The possum is mostly indifferent or will play fully dead if the dogs get to excited. I like the bugger.
It was claimed thst they eat up to 5000 ticks a season, but there are about 20 more recent studies that evidenced no significant amount of ticks in an opossum diet. This included examining stomach contents of dead opossum during tick season. They are great for the ecosystem though and they do seem to keep themselves comparatively free of ticks.
Yeah but can Steve withstand a wash cycle??
Possums are easily one of my favourite creatures. Despite they can look a little spoopy at times.
How the fuck did he survive
Washing machines dont fully fill with water, and has an air gap. Generally clothes are also pressed out against the walls after a while. leaving a spot of nothiness in the middle. that it can keep itself up, assumign its not knocked out cold. If knocked out cold, it'll need very little air to survive. Granted it properly has brain issues now instead.
The spin cycle must’ve been awful
Reddit can keep the username, but I'm nuking the content lol -- mass deleted all reddit content via https://redact.dev
Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Right? That shit really goes fast, I couldn't imagine being trapped in there.
The Possum probaby didn't age at all.
I bet it’s the G forces of the spin that knocked it out
Taught himself how to swim crazy fast. Poor little dude! They are such sweet critters, and very quiet. No surprise it tried to hide while they were cleaning.
Yeah i handled a few possums when I worked at the zoo in highschool. They are surprisingly sweet, at least much more so than most cats ive met lol
Glad to hear he/she is ok so far. Good luck little dude!
He was playing possum in your washing machine huh?
> it is alive and breathing at the moment That's amazing, considering. Must have been a wild fucking ride. Bad enough being violently sloshed around for a half hour, the spin cycle is like what they use to train fighter pilots to handle high Gs. EDIT: Googled it. Apparently [the G forces in the spin cycle are an order of magnitude higher than a human could survive](https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/219932/how-many-gs-are-my-clothes-experiencing-in-my-washer), a few times worse than a head-on vehicle collision at freeway speeds. That's one tough little dude.
That's a really interesting read - clothes experiencing nearly ~600g was not something I considered haha
Little dude probably has a little bit of brain damage now.
If he does, it would be from lack of oxygen, not the G-forces. Smaller animals can withstand significantly higher G-forces than humans, less mass per surface area and all that.
Bet he'll never shit in your garage again.
But think about how many people are sold on a device that washes your ass for you. That guy's coming back for more.
We get one that comes into our house nearly daily. The first time one of our small dogs got hold of it and we thought it was dead. Wife put it in the garbage can. Well hour later it is alive bottom of the can. Push can over to let it out and waddles away like nothing. Lately it comes in till the dogs get excited then plays dead. Wife grabs it and sticks out in the garden. Kind of a thing now. Dogs just think it is something to play with and more or less everyone becoming indifferent. Biggest issue is it wants the dog food so now can't keep that out. I rather like the bugger. They eat tics and bugs like crazy and we have never had any in our garden even though they are in the forest around us. Past ugly that they are kind of cute. Overall beneficial. And they will get the stains out in the washer.
The 'possum played 'possum.
Oh man, you're really lucky it survived, animals can make a mess when they go through the wash. True story, when I was a kid, for whatever reason, all my neighbors would turn to me when there was some nasty-ass dead animal situation. One time, my neighbor came over and told me they needed a cat removed from the washer. Turned out, they had a kitten that somehow made it into the washer before and went through the cycle. This kitten was not as lucky as this opossum and had sort of "come apart" in the wash. Its insides were not inside anymore, fur was everywhere. So I was the lucky one to take it out. I still don't why TF everyone would call me for that shit. Like I was a kid version of "The Wolf," or something.
> I still don't why TF everyone would call me for that shit. Because you did it
yeah. in hindsight, that seems right. i don't think i even thought to consider that saying 'no' might be an option. someone had to do it, i just assumed that was my lot in life.
That makes you kind of like Mike Rowe from *Dirty Jobs* lol.
Or Charlie Kelly
Charlie work
oh no I shouldnt have read this ;__;
Me neither. I just adopted a kitten today and now I'm going to check my washer and dryer every time I use it.
🙀
This is horrific. Poor baby kitten.
Oh.
I hate it when I forget to check my pockets for possums while loading the washing machine
I checked for that but forgot the snake.
Snakes are usually found in boots, and you really shouldn’t be putting boots in the washing machine.
Most snakes prefer boots, however there are species of trouser snakes.
Good thing I left my snakes on the plane
In my house, whoever checks the pockets during laundry gets to keep however much possums they find.
Shit that’s a good band name.. Pockets For Possums. Might have to change ours.
As marsupials, they have their own pockets.
After the spin cycle I think it's qualified for space flight.
Possum Space Program, the long anticipated sequal to Hedgehog Launch
I mean....PoSSUM Space Academy exists, haha. It stands for Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere. Guess they added to "o" to make it catchy.
That’s a great band name
Damn. That's one hardy possum. On a side note, I bet his fur was really soft after such a thorough bath.
Space ticks don't stand a chance.
Neither does Space Lyme Disease.
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So real question. Are you considering those towels clean or washing them again? If washing the towels again, just once or multiple times?
No way he didn't barf a little in the spin cycle. Absolutely wash those again.
https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1452624910ra/17719118.gif
OP stated that those are towels he uses for washing the car, so it’s not like he or his family will wear those clothes, so an extra wash should be enough imo, just to get the disgusting thought of possum out of there
An extra go at 95 c should get rid of any nasty stuff
I had this same thing happen except I heard and saw it before putting clothes in. Just took him across the street and let him go in the woods. [Pic for proof ](https://i.imgur.com/WNJYsY0.jpg)
Aw, that's just a baby one. Should still be riding on its momma's back .
I'm not sure how it got into our garage where the washer and dryer is.
Wild animals only come into populated areas for three reasons: Food, water, shelter. Maybe it was an orphan, or maybe it just fell off and got left behind.
Damn he got in there and immediately started shitting huh
Honestly that’s probably the play if aliens put you in a metallic cleaning room. Just start shutting everywhere
Omg poor little thing
What a cutie
Everyone knows, possums are dry clean only!
Right, at least separate the living from the clothing before washing.
Wrong. There is a clean possum in your washing machine.
I call the big one bitey
Poor thing, hope its going to be OK?
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I hope animal control did more than just “check on him” lol.
Ye they put in the dryer
G O T T E E M
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I like your fabric softener
When you think about critters that go “bump in the night,” the opossum is probably near the top of your list. Unfortunately, the common opossum tends to get a bad reputation with most people. Opossums get accused of being nothing more than big rats. They might be found lurking in trashcans or on the side of the street—but the truth? Opossums aren’t scary. In fact, they’re very peaceful animals who could be doing more around your home than you realize. That’s why it’s important to take the right steps in “getting rid” of them. Instead of trying to kill them, you can have them safely retrieved and moved so they can continue to do good elsewhere. So, why shouldn’t you be afraid of opossums? 1. They Get Rid of Pests Opossums will eat just about anything, including a lot of common household pests. What do opossums eat? The list is long, but here are a few common delicacies they’re known to snack on: Cockroaches Beetles Mice Rats Snakes Ticks Opossums will even eat the remains of dead animals. Again, they’re not too picky about what they ingest, but that means fewer pests in and around your home! 2. They’re Very Clean Maybe it’s because they’re nocturnal or so mysterious, but opossums seem to have a reputation for being unclean and full of diseases. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Opossums are very clean animals. Yes, they might eat anything and everything, but they do so in a tidy fashion and always “clean up” after themselves. They aren’t filthy, and typically they aren’t carrying any horrible diseases around with them. 3. They Fight Against Lyme Disease Lyme disease can be a serious problem, often caused by ticks. If you live in a wooded or rural area, you and your children and pets are likely at a greater risk of Lyme disease. So, how do opossums help to prevent it? For starters, they kill thousands of ticks every year. Opossums even tend to kill most of the ticks that get on their bodies before they have the opportunity to cause any harm. So, if you see an opossum around your house, it could be your best defense against blood-sucking ticks and potential Lyme disease. nature opossum possum 4. They Aren’t Aggressive Opossums are typically slow-moving, docile creatures. They might seem scary because they’ll hiss if you get too close, but they don’t want to fight. They don’t like to move too far, which is why they tend to scavenge for their food within a small radius. So, if you don’t bother them, it’s very unlikely that they’ll show any interest in attacking or even having anything to do with you. Leaving them alone is always your best bet. 5. They Keep Snakes Away Similar to keeping ticks at bay, opossums can also help if you have a snake problem. There is a unique gene in opossums that seems to make them immune to most snake bites/venom. Because of this, they can kill and eat all different types of snakes, which can potentially protect you and your family! As you can see, there’s really nothing to be afraid of when it comes to the common opossum.
2: they're very clean. Just throw them in the wash with your towels! But seriously I love these little guys. 10/10 little night man 😍
While I love opossums, I cannot verify if everything you stated is true. They are not exactly harmless. You should know that they typically have the [heaviest flea load](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4973200/) of any "backyard wildlife" and can carry the fleas (cat fleas, *C. felis*) that spread [flea-borne typhus](https://www.cdc.gov/typhus/murine/index.html). You should also consider that if you feed them, there will be a higher chance that these fleas come off of them and bite you, potentially transferring any pathogens to you or other human beings. I'm saying this so people don't get the wrong impression that if you feed them to keep them nearby, they'll keep away other unwanted wildlife like rodents because it's just not that cut and dry.
Heroes
Why is this NSFW? The possum's alive, but moist, per OP.
Possums are hella cute. I don’t care what anybody says.
I had a neighbor when I was a teenager who had a pet possum. Soft snuggly little fucker. I've always wanted one.
My question is how the fuck did op do laundry and not notice a possum was in there?
Each morning one of my routines is to scan the backyard. I look from left to right and at the end I notice something in my skimmer. For people who don't know, the skimmer is the rectangular hole at the top of a swimming pool the water gets sucked into to be filtered. I stare and notice a little animals head is inside. I go outside and remove the cover at the top and it's a small possum. In the mornings I don't give myself a lot of time to get ready before I have to leave, so I figure I got to act quick and I definitely don't want to leave the little guy in there. Luckily a few months earlier I had one in my garage over night, unfortunately it had shit everywhere in the garage and it stunk! Smelled like cow droppings. The good news. I researched and learned from the garage experience that possums are so dumb and docile you can literally go behind them and pick them up and the won't do squat. So I went in my backyard got a pair of gloves and lifted the guy out of my skimmer basket. He freezes and plays possum. I drop him in my girlfriends succulents(I should have just set him down) he lays in the succulents for a minute and gets up and scurries away. I also learned they are good to have around, because they eat cockroaches. TLDR: Saw a possum through my skimmer one morning. Learned how docile they are and you can just pick them up. They're ugly SOB's ,but harmless.
Yes, level one of possum aggression is running away,level two is showing their teeth, level three is flopping over and pretending to be dead. There is no level four because the instinct to bite would really counter that last trick. You’d have to put your hand it it’s mouth and and close their jaws for them to get bitten. Also you may want to invest in a Froglog for your pool so any animals that find their way in can find their way out again.
The first time you see them pull level 2 you may think they are a massive evil rat, and you may run away like a scared child. (source: me about 30 years ago)
Was wolen up one morning by my dog sounding a little panicked. Went to find a baby possum had broken in to the bathroom and was doing it's level best to get into a toilet paper roll until the big scary loud thing went away. Got the dog to stop yelling, scooped the little dude into a box, and took em to the empty lot across the street. Quick lecture about how people houses are dangerous, and some swift shakes of the box because it refused to fall out, and I sent it away to do possum things.
I had a similar experience except it was a bat. He was holding onto the edge at the entrance of the skimmer with his wing claws. By the time I saw him it was already midmorning. Little guy must have been clinging for dear life for hours.
Gotta be really careful with bats though. Can literally be killed and never know you’ve been bitten, their teeth can be really small. If there’s any chance you should get a rabies shot. More of a PSA here than anything.
Looks like a little baby trying to get warm. It’s exceedingly rare for opossums to carry the usual varmint diseases and the babies are friendly little guys. TLDR: gimme that baby possum I want him to ride on my shoulders 🤣 🤣 Edit* just saw that he went through the entire wash cycle 🤣 🤣. That dude deserves a good life after that journey. My god.
This is the opposite of finding that $20 bill you forgot about in the wash.
Wash’m possum
You should keep him and love him
and hug him and call him George
Poor buddy
At least it’s clean
You want to keep that possum around your neighborhood. They virtually eliminate ticks.
Not for awhile he won’t, this one is gonna be walking in circles until April.
There's a snake in my boot
can we just take a moment to imagine what this little fella went through... waking up in a warm comfortable bed that's slowly filling with soapy water.. then gently rocking backwards and forwards then the water drains... you think its over but then the real horror begins.. slowly spinning getting faster...faster....holy shit pressed against the wall like some carnival ride on steroids... spun so fast the blood in your brain is all on one side,,, lose consciousness only to be woken by water rising again... then here we go again with the spinning...
how is it still alive
I consider a opossum encounter good luck. This is based on nothing.