When you spot an opossum sneaking around your backyard, driveway, or front porch, you might get a little creeped out. Opossums are funny looking creatures, and the nighttime light reflects off their eyes in a way that makes them look almost possessed. This leaves many homeowners asking, “what’s the deal with opossums?”
Continue reading to review some frequently asked questions about opossums, including how to get rid of opossums in Nashville when they become a nuisance around your property.
Opossum FAQS You Need to Know
Whether you are experiencing heightened level of opossum activity around your property lately, or you have a passel of opossums taking shelter somewhere within your premises, you should be immediately motivated to get rid of opossums as fast as possible. Not only can they be highly destructive, but they are also common carriers of several transmissible diseases that can affect both people and pets.
Hopefully these frequently asked questions about opossums can help you quickly resolve a nuisance opossum problem, safely and humanely.
What Type of Animal is an Opossum?
An opossum is a marsupial, similar to a kangaroo. In fact, they are the only marsupial here in North America. They even carry their babies in a little pouch on their bellies. After 65 days or so, babies leave their mother’s pouch and climb onto her back, where they will take a free ride until they are old enough to fend for themselves.
Where Do Opossums Live?
The most common habitat for opossums here in Tennessee includes hollowed trees, abandoned animal dens, wide rock crevices, beneath porches, under decks, and even in dumpsters.
Do Opossums Use Their Tail to Hang Upside Down?
Due to media and cartoons, many people wrongly assume that opossums hang upside down from their tails. But this is not true. Opossums do use their long, rat-like tails for other reasons, such as balancing and climbing.
Our Opossums Dangerous?
Opossums are considered dangerous in the wild because they are known carriers of several transmissible diseases, such as rabies virus, leptospirosis, bacterial infections, and more. These types of diseases can be transmitted through saliva, blood, or even air. It is important to keep your pets accident all times against such diseases.
Will An Opossum Attack Me?
Although opossums are deemed dangerous, they are not aggressive animals. In fact, they are quite peaceful and docile, only likely to attack if they feel provoked, threatened, or if they are protecting their young. You have likely heard the phrase playing possum, which is derived from the opossum’s primitive instinct to drop and pretend they are dead in the presence of perceived danger.
How Do I Get Rid of Opossums?
The best way to get rid of opossums is to remove or obstruct access to the things they want on your property. This includes shelter, water sources, and food sources. Speak with a professional Nashville Tennessee critic control company for professional advice on getting rid of opossums, safely.
Are you experiencing heightened opossum activity in or around your Tennessee property? Contact Smoky Wildlife Control at 615-610-0962 for safe and affordable opossum removal in Nashville, TN and its surrounding counties. We serve residential and commercial clients.
You Should Also Read:
Why You Should Not Feed the Wild Animals Around Your House
What is Tunneling and Digging Under My Lawn?
FAQS About Animal Damages and Clean Up