Fellow Norristowners,

I'm in Norristown and have been a resident for 5 years. It's only become a true issue in the past month that there are a lot of pests in both my yard and my mothers yard. She had a groundhog actually advance on her (not just stand his ground) a few weeks ago.

Now, I'm well versed in the borough code on Firearms, which says that:
[Adopted 4-6-1982 as Ch. 109 of the 1981 Code]
§ 155-1
Discharge prohibited.
It shall be unlawful for any person within the Borough limits to propel, fire or discharge any rifle, air gun, pistol, spring gun, bow and arrow, shotgun or any implement which impels or propels with force a pellet or projectile of any kind.
Now, there is one exception to this ruling:
§ 155-3
Exceptions.
The Borough Council, by resolution, may from time to time authorize persons, at specific times and places and for specific purposes, to use firearms in the Borough of Norristown.
Does anybody have experience requesting the borough council to give permission to discharge an air rifle to dispatch possums and groundhogs? I spoke to a police officer earlier today on the street and he said "You'd probably be fine with an air rifle", but I don't want to take the risk of having the SWAT team kick in my door because a neighbor saw me with a crossman picking off a groundhog.


I have a feeling that even asking may bring negative attention, so I'm looking for any advice on how to handle them. On the topic of trapping them, the last time we did that we caught a skunk.

I'm also looking for a way to handle this without paying for an exterminator to deal with them.