My first up-close encounter with an opossum was one evening many years ago when I went to get feed for our horses. I had seen many of these hairy creatures flattened on the road, their lives abruptly and unceremoniously ended while out on a nightly prowl, but I wasn’t expecting to run into an 18-inch opossum wedged under the feed bin. I don’t know who was more surprised—the opossum or I. When I approached it, ever so slowly, it hissed at me with lips drawn back in what looked like a grin, revealing a huge number of needle-sharp teeth. I stopped to assess the situation.
I thought back to earlier in the day and remembered that I had unwittingly put out the welcome mat for this particular visitor when I left the feed-room door open that morning. After a few minutes, the hissing stopped. I gingerly got my feed and left, leaving the door open so the hapless creature could leave the same way it came in.
About the size of a large house cat, the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is North America’s only marsupial, a mammal that carries and nurses its young in a pouch. One of Earth’s oldest surviving mammals, opossums have been around for at least 65 million years, first appearing in North America about the time dinosaurs went extinct. With little need to evolve for survival, the modern-day version of this marsupial is somewhat of a living fossil, retaining many of the features of its ancient ancestors. Despite its rat-like appearance, the opossum is closely related to other pouched mammals, such as the kangaroo, koala, and wombat.
The critter got its unusual name in 1608 from Captain John Smith, one of the British settlers of Jamestown, Virginia. The colonists traded with the Algonquin Indian tribes, and the opossum was named for their word apasum, meaning “white animal.” Opossums are found in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, along the West Coast, and in portions of Mexico, Canada, and Central America. In North America, they are typically referred to as the North American opossum, or merely ‘possum.
Virtues of the Lowly Opossum
The oft-maligned opossum is actually a fascinating creature that suffers from an image problem. Frequently perceived as a dim-witted, rat-like scavenger whose most impressive trick is playing dead, there’s actually a lot more to this creature than meets the eye—virtues that just might transform the aversion of some to this odd, waddling mammal into, at least, tolerance.
Turns out opossums are the unsung heroes in the fight against Lyme Disease. Ticks that carry the Lyme Disease bacteria are found on mice, shrews, squirrels, and chipmunks, but not so with the opossum. Research by scientists at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York found that opossums eat over 95 percent of the ticks that land on them during their meanderings. “We found that the average opossum kills thousands of ticks every week as they wander through the forest,” says Felicia Keesing, ecologist and Professor of Biology at Bard College, and Adjunct Scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. “The opossum wanders through the woods and ticks get on them just like they might get on any animal wandering through the woods, but opossums groom them off and kill them in the process.”
These solitary scavengers will eat almost anything. Besides consuming gargantuan amounts of ticks, the opossum’s diet includes snails, slugs, and beetles, making them a welcome addition to the garden. They’ll also catch and eat pests such as mice, rats, fire ants, and cockroaches, and they’re one of the few animals that prey upon shrews and moles. As if that isn’t enough, opossums are immune to snake venom, and actually kill and eat snakes on the homestead, even venomous ones like rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths. They also eat roadkill, making them an important part of nature’s cleanup crew.
Playing ‘Possum
Perhaps the opossum’s most well-known characteristic is the ability to feign death when confronted by an enemy. Opossums use several defense tactics when threatened, including running, climbing a tree, growling, baring its 50 sharp teeth, and hissing. When these tactics fail, the opossum has one last trick up its sleeve—”playing ‘possum.” In an involuntary response similar to fainting, the opossum rolls on its side, with lips drawn back, teeth bared, and tongue hanging to the side, mimicking a dead animal. In this unconscious state, they also secrete a foul-smelling liquid like that of a rotting carcass. Because most predators prefer live prey, the enemy will interpret these signs that the opossum is dead and lose interest.
Coexisting with Opossums
Opossums are non-aggressive, reclusive animals that only want to be left alone. Unfortunately, they often fall victim to misinformation, and the results can be disastrous for them. Not exactly the cutest animal, they’re further burdened by the misconception that they’re rabid when they drool and hiss, which is actually a bluff tactic to scare off predators. In fact, opossums tend to be resistant to rabies, a trait thought to have something to do with their low body temperature (94 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit), which doesn’t provide a suitable environment for the virus to live.
Having no defenses, opossums are often the target of inhumane acts to get rid of them, especially in urban areas where they are cruelly trapped or poisoned. They have a life expectancy of only 1 to 4 years due to their many predators, which include foxes, bobcats, coyotes, owls, and dogs; however, their habit of eating roadkill results in far more being killed by automobiles than any other predator.
Opossums are increasing in numbers and expanding their range throughout North America. Not particular where they take up residence, and highly adaptable, they can thrive in almost any habitat where there is food, water, and a denning site to meet their needs. Because the living environs of wild creatures often overlap that of humans, a better knowledge and understanding of all wild animals and the role they play in the greater ecological scheme are essential to a peaceful coexistence with humans.
That couldn’t be truer than in the case of the opossum. These harmless creatures pose absolutely no threat to people, and they are far more beneficial as scavengers than harmful for any damage they might do. The good news is, if you can keep them out of the places where you don’t want them, opossums are actually pretty amazing creatures to have on the homestead. Typically, they go about their business so quietly that you won’t even know they’re around. Should you happen to encounter one, do nothing! These reclusive animals seldom stay in one place long. The best thing to do is watch from a distance and enjoy one of nature’s most beneficial wildlife species.
If, despite all the good that opossums do to rid your property of pests, you would prefer that they move on, there are simple, non-lethal ways to discourage them.
10 Ways to Discourage Opossums from Hanging Around
- Eliminate all food sources. Keep in mind that opossums hunt at night, relying chiefly on their sense of smell to find food.
- Feed pets indoors or bring in any leftover pet food before dark, when opossums are most active.
Opossums love a good cat-food snack, so be sure not to leave pet food outdoors, especially overnight. - Keep compost containers secure, and use tightly-fitting lids on garbage cans. Regularly spraying trash cans with a mixture of half ammonia, half water will keep scavengers away.
- Clean barbecue grills and grease traps after use.
- Harvest fruit and garden crops when they’re ripe, and pick up any fruit that drops from trees or bushes. Also clean up spilled birdseed.
- Remove brush piles, dilapidated buildings, and holes under concrete slabs to eliminate possible hiding places.
- Keep your yard well lit at night. Opossums favor darkness and won’t consider your property welcoming.
- If gutters or other vertical surfaces are being climbed, cover them with an 18-inch piece of sheet metal, or apply vegetable shortening up to a height of 18 inches.
- Motion-activated sprinkler systems are an effective deterrent. Place them near the trouble spot, such as your chicken coop or garden. The system will activate when an animal comes within its reach, teaching it to steer clear of the area.
- Should you have to remove an opossum, use a live-catch trap baited with a can of cat food, but first check to ensure that trapping is legal in your area, keeping in mind that in most jurisdictions, you can’t trap and release in a different location. You can also call your local animal control office for help with removing “nuisance” wildlife.
Last year a neighbor had a possum hanging around. her deck, and asked me if she should contact an exterminator. Turned out she was feeding two outside cats., and they were not eating all the food., which can attract possums, raccoons, and other nocturnal critters.. I suggested that she remove any leftover food and clean up the area before nightfall , which she did. Within a couple of days, the possum moved on.
Latest research says opossums do not eat large amounts of ticks. They do however, eat baby chickens, carry diseases that are fatal to horses! Not such a good homestead animal to have around!
There has been very recent conflicting evidence as to whether ticks are a large part of the opossum’s diet. I relied on information provided by the National Wildlife Foundation and other reputable sources to on this topic; as it tuns out, many have recently retracted their claims based on studies that did not find large amounts of ticks in the opposum’s diet. Having said that, opossums, North America’s only marsupial, have survived nearly unchanged since they shared the planet with dinosaurs; they are naturally resistant to rabies and snakebites a compound in their blood has been found to neutralize snakebit venom); and they help maintain a healthy, clean environment by eating large amounts of decaying animal matter and rotting fruit. Whether or not they are tick-eating machines, they are valuable to a healthy ecosystem.
In a lot of the chili cook-offs in the South, it’s not unknown for a batch or two of possum chili to be available, often unknown to the crowds who gather for samples. Telling someone who has had a taste that it’s possum is said to be good for laughs when the reaction comes.
Their excellent night vision is overwhelmed by headlights which dooms many of them.