The HAMILL STREET saga of the POSSUM FAMILY.

Monday, April 14th 2008 proved to be one of the most unusual and interesting days in our seven year history here on Hamill Street. Bobby and I have both been concerned in recent weeks with strange noises we were hearing from inside the shower enclosure area in our bathroom near the pool. In the morning and later evening we were hearing what were essentially "scratching" sounds coming from behind the walls. We tried to evaluate it, and attempted to remedy it with an ultrasonic pest repellent. It didn't work, so we decided to open the wall and take a look. We were expecting no more than a couple of mice or a squirrel, so after Bobby left for work on Monday morning, Thom got out his trusty dry wall saw, and cut a whole approximately 5" x 10" into the wall next to the john in our '59 Chevy Motif bathroom. When the piece of dry wall fell inside the wall, Thom found himself literally face to face with a Momma possum, and an indeterminate number of her offspring. Understandably, a quick fix cover was made for over the hole, and a whole new set of problems were now needed to be addressed.

A frantic series of telephone calls followed to animal control, to several pest control companies, and eventually to the Louisiana Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. They referred me to a couple of companies that did actual "removals". Most other suggestions involved setting traps and waiting for the animals to wander into them, which could have taken weeks. Once we realized we had a family living in our walls, getting them removed seemed an immediate concern, so I called a company called VEXCON. They were very cooperative, and promised to take care of the situation immediately. That proved to be a defining moment for the day.

Soon after the call to VEXCON, I received a call back from a young man who said he represented a movie company, and could they film the removal of our possums. I said sure, thinking it would be for a commercial for the company or something like that. I called Bobby and advised him of what was going on, wishing he could be here to help with what was apparently becoming a "project" of a much bigger dimension than originally envisioned. Little did we know what was yet to come for the day.

The "filming" turned out to be sponsored by a new reality show for A&E called "BILLY THE EXTERMINATOR". It's a new show which will premier on A&E in the fall, and will feature "BILLY" doing unusual pest removals, much in the format of the "DIRTY JOBS" program already airing. The "possum project" seemed just right for a segment on this new show, and within minutes a crew of 8 men, plus BILLY showed up at 303 Hamill and began setting up for what would be a full day of "shooting". Unfortunately, Bobby was working, and because of that the show was set up with Thom as the home owner, and principal "protagonist" in this endeavor. They arrived here early in the morning, and left around 7 PM. It took most of the day to remove the 5 (yes - FIVE) baby possums, and set a trap for the Mama possum which will be removed today (Tuesday the 15th).

What follows here is a series of pictures we managed to take while the A&E crew was here working, and of BILLY THE EXTERMINATOR doing his job. He is a real character himself, and a truly nice man who is careful to do his work without harm to the "critters" he is charged with removing.

Here are a couple of links to sites related to BILLY THE EXTERMINATOR.

LOUISIANA MOVIES BLOG

VEXCON (Billys Company)

When we know the air date for this show, we will send out an E-mail to "alert the media".