Opossums

Located across North America, opossum are not rodents, but marsupials. They are the largest type of marsupial in North America. When opossums give birth, they do so early on in the gestation and the babies make their way into pouches located in the mother where they grow to maturity. The are generally nocturnal, which is when you often see them around the garbage cans, their eyes glowing when hit by the car headlights.

Although an opossum has a relatively fearsome face and bear some resemblance to rats with their long tails, they are not generally dangerous. They also rarely carry rabies, which is a concern especially for pet owners. Although they will bite and defend themselves, they are not considered much of a threat.

That being said, opossum can cause damage to property, vegetation and do carry some other disease. If you think you have a problem with opossum, then call the experts at Rentokil by calling 877-690-2115 or use our online form to schedule an appointment.

Opossum are very adaptable. They have biology that adapts to their area quite well, and that makes them opportunistic eaters. If it smells good, seems like they can get to it easily, they will eat it.

There are many things within the biology of an opossum that make them so adaptable. For example, they are immune to virtually every form of snake and snake venom. That means that they will eat snakes like rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and other animals that would do in the average human.

Opossum also eat insects, fruit, plants, slugs, snails, rats, mice, frogs, crayfish and carrion.

They also will end up on your porch if you put out food for your cat or dog. If you put leftovers and food in the garbage, but don't secure the lid on the garbage cans or put the bags in some kind of container.

There are only a few diseases that are associated with opossum. They tend to have lower incidents of rabies than wild dogs and other pests, but they might carry:

• Leptospinosis
• Tuberculosis
• Relapsing fever
• Tularemia
• Spotted fever
• Toxoplasmosis

Any of these diseases can become serious and several of them can come from parasites that opossum carry with them.

Opossum are very opportunistic. If there is a hole in the roof already, they might use it to get into attics, but will rarely dig or chew those holes themselves. They might dig in your lawn looking for grubs and other insects that lurk just below the surface level.

Like many pests, the best way to get rid of them is to make changes to your home and property so that opossum do not find your home as attractive as some other areas. This means doing things like:

The best way to take care of opossum is to call in the experts. Experts like those at Rentokil deal with opossums and other wildlife issues all the time. We can help find the reasons they are choosing your property and your home. We will advise you on what you should do to your home to prevent opossums from ending up inside and prevent damage.

Call Rentokil and our highly trained pest control professionals will find and help remove the opossums that are there. We use the latest and most humane methods to remove them safely.

The first step is to call Rentokil at 877-690-2115 or fill in our online form to schedule an appointment today.