Opossums. Some folks love them and some hate them, but should you really allow them to hang around your homestead? As it turns out, these oft-derided marsupials have some great benefits, alongside a few drawbacks. Read on for some facts about the common North American opossum, otherwise known as the Virginia opossum.
Natural Scavengers and Stealthy Hunters
Opossums are natural scavengers, a tendency which has caused them to run afoul of humans for years by raiding their garbage. If you leave you garbage inside, however, or seal it well, opossums will turn their natural scavenging behavior back to its roots, chowing down on grass, nuts and fruits. This lack of garbage to feed on will also lead them to rely on a different method of finding food: hunting. Hungry opossums will hunt mice, rats, shrews, voles, insects, worms and snakes (even poisonous ones, as they are immune to the venom), keeping your yard well clear of pests. While it is often said they can even hunt birds and chickens, I myself have never seen the latter, and find the former to be a fairly rare occurrence.
Fastidious Groomers
Contrary to their popular image, opossums probably keep themselves cleaner than half your friends. Meticulous little creatures, they groom themselves in a manner similar to cats, and what they find, they eat. Now while that may sound a little gross, bear in mind one of the food groups I listed for opossums was insects, and this includes ticks. The creatures are veritable magnets for the bloodsuckers, and devastate some 96% of them that cross their path–up to 5,000 in a week, by some estimates! What’s more, since their immune systems are incredibly good at fighting Lyme disease, ticks that do bite and move on from an opossum have a much lower chance of spreading the disease. For this benefit alone, I generally allow as many opossums as possible to hang around my property.
Habitat
Natural climbers, opossums’ sharp claws and long, prehensile (gripping) tails allow them to tackle trees with ease. They will often nest up there in tree hollows, though when such a space is not available, they have been known to nest on the ground, in the disused dens of other animals.
Trapping
Have an opossum that is just too problematic to keep around? Trapping them is simple. So simple, in fact, that traps I set for other animals often end up catching a curious opossum instead. A basic live trap of the kind below is readily available from your local hardware or sporting goods store. I’ve found an open can of tuna fish generally works well for bait, though any kind of meat will do. Fruit is often an option, but I find it to be less attractive to the animals. Place the trap out at night, well away from any competing food sources (or next to inaccessible food sources, like sealed garbage cans, if you want to be sneaky), and check it in the morning. Chances are, you’ll have yourself an opossum.
When you approach, the opossum will likely open its mouth, exposing some jagged teeth and emitting a hissing sound. Do not worry. While opossums absolutely can bite you, this display just indicates the opossum is scared. Toss a sheet over the trap to calm the animal down, don some gloves, load the trap into your truck, and drive the animal at least 20 miles to relocate it. Once there, with your gloves on, simply stand behind the trap and lift the door. The opossum will waste no time running from you, and into the wilderness. Of course, always be sure to consult with your local authorities before relocating an animal.
A humble homesteader based in an undisclosed location, Lars Drecker splits his time between tending his little slice of self-sustaining heaven, and bothering his neighbors to do his work for him. This is mainly the fault of a debilitating predilection for fishing, hunting, camping and all other things outdoors. When not engaged in any of the above activities, you can normally find him broken down on the side of the road, in some piece of junk he just “fixed-up.”
Tim Shurtleff says
If you have horses ‘possums are carriers for Equine Protozoal Myelencephalitis, a nasty parasite that eats the nervous tissue of horses making them lame and useless. It is transmited via possum poop which they leave around on the ground and horses who eat hay and grain off of the ground (all horses, because they drop it and pick it back up). If caught early and given a course of antibiotics the horse may survive, but may never be the same. I and others who have horses have seen the devastating effects of EPM. Possums on my farm and many other gun owners only last as long as it takes to get a gun out. Possums are not cute, they are deadly
Rick Son says
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I haven’t seen a California King snake in many years,and i am always up in and around the Sierras..I savrd one once on a semi busy road,he was crossing, bueatifull snake so a pulled over got a stick and got him across,i stopped a couple vehicles to do so, he would have certainly bit hit, he was crossing a small bridge over a nice creek..
Timothy says
After loosing a chicken to a opossum they gained a spot on my hit list.
We live within city limits, so not ticks to justify having them around.
Sorry, just not a fan of the stinky little fellows.
Rick Son says
I believe that alzhimers is connected to Lyme disease,i wonder if the plazma of the Possum could be used as a cure alng with anti biotics???
Starkwood says
More likely than not, they were most interested in the eggs to be found among the birds.
William Johnson says
I trap turkey nest predators during trapping season and my turkey population is up since I started a few years ago .I bury those dispatched predators in my garden and turn them into fertilizer .I prefer king snakes to eat any venomous snakes .
Michael says
The down side of opossums is that they raid bird nests both on the ground and in trees. Thus one of the results of this is that they take a large toll on the pheasant population here. My father told me that there used to be a large population of pheasants in our area until the mid 1950’s in which opossums were introduced as they are not native here in the Northwest. The wild birds are very few now and the only places that we find the larger populations are in areas where they are pin raised and reintroduced by either the Fish & Game or private individuals..
Jack Mackay says
Just a note – pheasant are not native to the US. They had to be “introduced” to this country totally.
Michael Smith says
I have relocated many by trapping them inadvertently while trying to relocate racoons. On a few occasions they dont seem interested in leaving the trap and its quite entertaining watching them wake up from playing possum and calmly sonter out of the trap.
After reading your article and the benefits of having them around I will release any I catch back into my yard. Great article.
Michael says
We had bird aviaries in Florida and they use to climb the screens and claw through them to get to the birds. I would think they would have eaten the birds if they could have gotten to them.
Bobo says
It’s also possible they weren’t after the birds but other “game” that was living in the aviary along with the birds (such as fleas/ticks and other insects)
Mikial says
We put scraps out for Opossums every night and have several regulars that show up to enjoy the buffet. We enjoy seeing them and can pick out several individuals who regularly frequent the feasts we put out.
Greg says
I raised an opossum from a preemie, mother got hit by a car. Cutest little guy! I’ve found them to discourage skunks somewhat, ( in my yard ). Great little critters! Quite beneficial.
Bemused Berserker says
They are excellent pest control, and unlike raccoons, they avoid setting up their nest in your shed.
Bobo says
Also unlike Raccoons, they apparently can’t/don’t get rabies
Jeff says
Rabies is rare in opossums but not impossible. Impossumble?
Jack Mackay says
When I first read ( I believe it was a Nat Geo article) that they eat snakes and were immune to the poisonous ones, I had a whole new respect for them. Here in West Virginia copperheads are very common so I prefer them to my dogs and cat being bitten by a poisonous snake.