If you missed the beginning portion of this article, Check out part one in our Healthy Environment section.

As I explained in the previous article, while you might not readily be able to get an opossum, do not chase them away if you are lucky enough to have one show up.

Opossums are hugely beneficial.

As Senior Scientist and Animal Ecologist, Rick Ostfeld –one of the leading experts on Lyme disease (and writer of the book Lyme Disease: The Ecology of a Complex System)- at the Cary Institute of New York states:

“Because many ticks try to feed on opossums and few of them survive the experience. Opossums are extraordinarily good groomers it turns out – we never would have thought that ahead of time – but they kill the vast majority – more than 95% percent of the ticks that try to feed on them. So these opossums are walking around the forest floor, hoovering up ticks right and left, killing over 90% of these things, and so they are really protecting our health.”

But people still say “ eeeewww …but it’s a possum”

Why is this?  Some of the largest inaccuracies about possums revolve around the notion that the possum is a filthy animal.  Misconceptions abound about the opossum being unclean and disease carrying.

It’s widely believed that the opossum is a nuisance to pets and to your yard, bothering animals, tipping trashcans, digging up flower bulbs and the like.

In actuality the opossum is an extremely fastidious animal.  A master groomer, if you will.  It is for this very reason that nary a tick survives an encounter with our possum friend.   In fact, when not foraging for food, or sleeping, the opossum spends it’s time cleaning itself.

The opossum is an omnivorous creature.  Scavengers who feast upon insects, mice, snakes, grass, nuts and fruit as well as carrion.

Because they will eat just about anything, they often visit human dwellings to raid garbage cans or dumpsters.

Opossums are essentially nature’s cleaners.  So while they will forage around in uncovered trash, they also tidy up decaying flesh and vegetation, as well as keeping the insect and rodent population in check.  Just simply put your garbage in a covered bin in order to discourage hungry possums as well as a wide range of other curious/ hungry animals.

‘Attacks’ by opossums are simply non-existent and an unprovoked possum will not bother you or your pets.  Opossums are “rarely found to be rabid and appear to be resistant to many viral diseases such as distemper, parvovirus, and feline hepatitis” according to Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation

I genuinely like opossums.

Every time I see an opossum dead on the side of the road now it saddens me, not only because I feel badly for the poor fellow, but because I can’t help feeling as though we have lost a valued comrade.  Our valiant ally who is no longer out there, scouring our yards, eating the living daylights out of the tick population.

 

Did you know?:  the opossum is North Americas only marsupial

For more cool facts about opossums:

National Geographic
opossum.org