Opossums are about the size of your typical house cat, with coarse grayish fur, a pointed face, and rounded ears. Opossums have a long hairless tail can be used as a tool to carry things such as nesting materials and even hang upside down from a tree branch. Males are usually larger than females. Their feet look like small hands with widely spread fingers and of their toes have a claw except for the opposable thumb on the rear foot.

Opossum habitats can be quite diverse, ranging from arid to moist and wooded to open fields, opossum favor environments near streams or wetlands. They can take shelter in abandoned burrows of other animals, in tree cavities and brush piles, and underneath other dense cover. In urban and suburban areas, they reside under steps, porches, decks, tool sheds, and if accessible, in attics, garages, and beneath houses. Once they’ve entered a neighborhood, they will stay as long as there is food, water, and shelter are available. Food sources such as: vegetable gardens, compost piles, garbage cans, or food dishes intended for dogs or cats will attract the opossum

Opossums can chew through your electrical wiring which can cause expensive repairs. When threatened, they will hiss, growl, and show their teeth. They can also cause serious injury to your dog or cat with their sharp teeth. Opossums can damage your home and landscape. Contact Metro Guard at first signs of opossums.

Opossums are carriers of diseases such as: leptospirosis, tuberculosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, and Chagas disease. At times they can get fully infested with fleas, ticks, mites, and lice which present a risk to people and their pets. Many times the cost of treating fleas or lice far exceeds the cost of Opossum removal.

Since opossums are not wary of traps, humane trapping is the best way to eliminate your opossum problem. Our wildlife control experts will set traps along fences or trail-ways. We carry live traps, so once the opossum has been trapped it will be relocated in a humane manner. Animal control can be dangerous. Make sure you take safety precautions if you attempt to trap wildlife on your own. Always feel free to contact Metro Guard if you have any questions.