About Possums and What May Be Attracting Them to Your Home

Possums are a funny looking creature. People either think they are cute and adorable or they think they looks scary. They are a creature you will see from time to time if you live in a suburb.

What are Possums?

Though many people automatically assume a possum is a rodent of some sort because of their size, the truth is that they are a marsupial. Like all other marsupials, they carry their young in a pouch. When the offspring get a little larger they just hang onto mom’s body externally.

Possums use their tail in many ways such as climbing or manipulating objects. But they cannot hang from their tail. Only very young possums can hang by their tail but their body weight becomes too much as they get older to continue to do so.

What They Eat

Possums eat snails, bugs, snakes, moles, grass, leaves and garbage. They are basically scavengers. They are lovingly referred to as “Nature’s Sanitation Workers” by some folks. They operate at night and “clean up” anything which can be eaten.

Pest or Not

Most people don’t see them enough to consider them a pest. They are really shy and want to stay out of your way. Some people do have trouble with them if the possum population is large and they raid low-top trash bins or eat outdoor pet food. But for the most part you rarely see these little creatures.

Defense Mechanism

You have definitely heard the term “playing possum”. This is because the possums main defense tactic it to keel over and pretend it is dead. Granted it is not the only animal which does this, but it is the most well-known.

List of animals which play dead as a defense

Danger

Possums are generally not dangerous but like any animal, they can be stricken with rabies and this will make them aggressive. If you have been bitten by a possum its best to go to the hospital right away.

Possums do not make good pets because of their wild nature. It is a bad idea to try to tame and keep a possum.

If you have a pest problem of any kind please feel free to contact us. We will give you a free estimate.

Prevention

If you don’t want possums around your home, make sure to tidy up real well. If there is nothing for them to eat, they won’t return. If possums become a nuisance they can be trapped and released elsewhere.