Common Nuisance Situations:

A Common Myth: A hissing or drooling opossum is not necessarily rabid. When threatened, a healthy opossum may bare its teeth, make a lot of noise, drool, bite, or leak a nasty fluid out of its rear. Stress may cause them to play dead, which might confuse predators and keep them from being eaten.

Calls from customers often peak from mid-April through mid-May, when the females are looking for den sites . North America's only marsupial (mammals whose young develop in a pouch). They're more closely related to kangaroos and koalas than to the other animals in the neighborhood! and carry thier young with them. From mid-May through September, customers may call about digging (Also an Excellent Excavator), bold behavior or plant and vegetable garden destruction. From spring through the fall they may dig thier burrows under sheds, decks and even under slabs of homes, garages and sidewalks sometimes causing them to collapse.

What Damage Can They Do to My Property ?

Opossum Tracks

Opossum Scat

1. Raid gardens, chicken coops, bird feeders, pet food, and garbage.
    
2. Sometimes den in garages or attics and make a mess..
    
3. A parasite found in the feces of opossums can contaminate water and food sources for horses (both hay and feed). This parasite can transmit a disease to horses, called "equine protozoal myelitis." This disease affects the nervous system and can cause lameness.
4. Burrowing. Look for burrow entrances among shrubs near vegetable and ornamental gardens; under woodpiles, brush piles, and stone walls; under sheds, porches, decks, and crawl spaces. Burrows in fields may damage agricultural equipment, while those in pastures may trip livestock, resulting in injuries.
    
5. Disease risks: Low. Mange, rabies (rarely).

Description:

Grizzled gray, with mix of black underfur and longer white guard hairs. Head pointed; nose long; face white, with long whiskers; ears small, round, black with white tip. Legs short, black; feet have 5 digits; hindfeet have opposable, grasping inner thumbs. Tail long, tapered, naked, pink with black base. Eats fruit, nuts, bird eggs, large insects, carrion. May hang from branches using wraparound, prehensile tail. If surprised at close range, may play possum (feign death).
Breeding: 1-14 (avg. 8) pea-size young attach themselves to nipples in mother’s pouch for 2 months; 2-3 litters per year.
Sign: Tracks: hindprint 2" wide, 3 middle toes close, outer toes well spread; foreprint slightly smaller, star-like.
Habitat: Broadleaf woods, watersides, farms.
Activity: Nocturnal; much less active in winter.

To evict "smiley Opossum" from your home, just give one of our experts a call !

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