# Disinfecting Moonshine's water bucket after possum incident



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Today I got an interesting surprise in Moonshine's water bucket. A baby possum had apparently crawled in there and not been able to crawl out again. I didn't see any blood, and it seemed pretty calm, so I found a quiet dark spot and gently tipped it out. It sat there stunned for a few seconds and then scurried off, so I think it was not sick or injured.

It did poop in the bucket, though, several times. I rinsed it out (on the gravel road so as to not contaminate grass or a feeding area) then brought it home, because I don't have any disinfecting stuff out at the barn, or at least nothing really strong. I guess I need to put a mixture of bleach and water in there? What's the ratio of bleach to water I should use, and how long should I let it sit?


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I would just use anti-bacterial dishwashing soap & hot water you can scrub the bucket with using a scrub brush, a small splash of bleach added to it as bleach kills nearly everything including your skin and clothes if splashed on it...
Rinse and rinse again...
Put it in sun to dry.

_*Has it been dry near you?*_
I often had possums visit my barn as a kid looking for water, finding adult ones in empty buckets, never a baby.
I use to let them go free in the woods as my food was safely stored in steel barrels and they were not after my hay bales...
I had barn cats who adopted me and kept undesirables away, but when dry weather the animals do what they must for a drink...
To this day, I know "the dangers" but honestly, if you had one in a bucket normal diligence to clean is fine .... that animal did just came across your barn and fields so ...contamination is possible anyhow.
For all of what they can do, diligence to safeguard what they are after is more important and I won't kill them cause the good they do do for the environment... its_ my_ job to store my feed where it not be inviting to them to get into.








What to do about opossums


Opossum are gentle neighbors and are rarely dangerous. Here's what to do if you have one in a crawlspace.




www.humanesociety.org









Wildlife Medical Clinic - Veterinary Medicine at Illinois


What We Do




vetmed.illinois.edu




🐴... _ jmo.._


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

5.25% bleach not diluted and left to soak 1 hour or 100% ammonium hydroxide and soak for 1 hour.

Those are the only two things I know of that kill that sporocyte. Nothing short of that works. 

It was a consideration when I lost two of my horses and asked about disinfecting everything the rest ate or drank out of.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I just use bleach in my water troughs after the squirrels drown themselves. I pour about a half cup of bleach , take the scrub brush, brush all around the bottom and sides , let it sit for a bit while I work on the next trough, go back rinse , scrub again with just the brush and rinse again . My troughs hold about 40 gallons .


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Don't opossums carry EPM or some disease? Sorry they don't live my area. But if it were me, I would bleach it good, then neutralize with vinegar. I would have two buckets, everyday I would put the disinfected one out and disinfecting the used one since we know the opossums are drinking from it.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

Maybe I'm ridiculous, but I'd consider just tossing it and getting a new bucket. Buckets are cheap.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

While I have cloroxed every water container for every critter I have ever owned, my entire life, I would just flat throw that bucket O-U-T.

I have personally seen what EPM can do to a horse that “recovered”. I have seen pictures of an acquaintance’s horse going downhill that didn’t recover in spite of all the expensive meds and care she gave it.

Buckets are cheap and easily replaced —- pitch it.

And BTW, find out what is attracting the opossum to the barn and check the hay for opossum manur. If there’s any on the bale, the entire bale should be pitched not just the section the manure was found because it probably peed on it too.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Possums do carry EPM and I lost a beautiful horse to EPM. Rats also carry EPM. We have both in Florida, unfortunately.

We dump our garbage into a cut-in-half 55 gallon drum mixed with horse manure to grow worms, which then go into the garden. Once a baby possum had gotten trapped in our worm farm. I didn't know how to get it out as the drum was full of horse manure and garbage. After a day or two, it figured out how to get out on its own. Although I lost a horse to EPM, I still couldn't bear to harm the baby possum. They are awfully cute (unlike rats, which are only cute when they are not in my barn)


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

The bucket was dry. I could have understood it if it had water in there, but I can't understand what it was doing in a dry bucket. I have been trying to keep them empty when we're not out there, so as to not breed mosquitos (we only use the buckets in their stalls; they have troughs in their pasture). I always turn Pony's bucket over but not Moonshine's. I don't know why. I will start turning them both over in the future.

I have a few days before I go out there, so I will think about what to do about it. EPM doesn't pass to humans, does it? If I use 100% bleach in the bucket I'm wondering if I can then re-use the bleach to clean the mildewy grout in my shower.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Oh this is interesting. This article says steaming will kill it:
"Research from OSU, the USDA, the University of Sao Paulo, and the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine published in the December 2002 issue of _The Journal of Parasitology_ showed that the most effective way to kill sporocysts in the barn is steam cleaning. Sporocysts heated to 131 degrees F (55 degrees C) for 15 minutes and 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) for more than one minute were unable to infect the mice. "

Further:

"According to the researchers, none of the following disinfectants were effective in killing sporocysts–bleach (Clorox at 10%, 20%, and 100%), 2% chlorhexidine (Nolvasan), 1% betadine (Betadine), 5% o-benzyl-p-chlorophenol (TB plus), 12.56% phenol (Wexcide), 6% benzyl ammonium chloride (NPD), and 10% formalin. Treatment with undiluted ammonium hydroxide (29.5% ammonia) for one hour killed sporocysts; however, when the ammonia was diluted, it did not kill sporocysts. "






Preventing EPM – The Horse


Saville presented a summary of what is known about EPM, and he believes that with better understanding of the disease, wildlife management, risk-factor manipulation, prophylactic medications, and possible vaccination, that prevention of EPM can be attained.




thehorse.com





I think we still have our steamer around. I wonder if pouring boiling water in there and letting it sit would also work.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Them drinking out of or eating from or even walking through is not going to contaminate anything. The spore is in their poop.


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