Opossums are the only marsupials that are native to the Americas. Marsupials are normally found in Australia and New Zealand. These breed however, that is found in the Americas, is fully adapted to the climatic conditions here. As such, these opossums can survive literally anywhere in the United State provided they have the necessary conditions that allow for their thriving. In recent times though, the rise in the number of opossums has brought about the need to have a reliable opossum control company that can serve the residents with the necessary opossum removal services, this is in a bid to curb the population.
Opossums thrive in areas where there are conditions such as garbage and a lot of litter which serves as feed for them. Being able to control these factors eliminates the need to have an opossum control company. So the question here is how do you control these two factors when it is evident that each household has to produce them. It is important that if you want to control the presence and population opossums in your garden that you find a means of emptying your garbage cans on a regular basis. This denies the opossums a source of food and forces them to move to another area in search of the same. The garbage cans even if empty also need to be sealed at the top to avoid the incidence whereby the opossums try to get into them and thus make some strange noises at night. It is important to note that opossums are nocturnal animals and thus exhibit a lot of activity at night or in darkness. This should also give you an idea as to how and where you can spot the opossums should you have a fear that they could be living on your property.
Any good opossum control company will tell you that in order to get rid of opossums, you need to disrupt their habitats and if possible destroy the habitats as well as any nest that the opossums may have created. Opossums love it in places where their activities are hidden from the view of human beings and their predators. Thus, opossums prefer living in shallow burrows that they dig around your compound. You need to look around your property for any burrow that has been dug by opossums. Immediately you spot one, insert a stick inside the burrow in order to upset the opossum and force it out. Using a flashlight works just as fine in doing this and you are sure to gain some good ground in your efforts to control the opossums. Once the adult opossum is out of the burrow, you need to check whether there are any young ones that are stuck inside the burrow. You need to deal with these young ones if you should have any hopes of eventually controlling the opossums on your property. Ensure that you then fill the burrows with stones or concrete to prevent the opossums from coming back to the burrow later on.
Opossums have a tendency of playing dead whenever they feel threatened. This is an involuntary action that is initiated by their body systems. In this state, the opossum will excrete a certain type of fluid that will create a foul smell that will fool you into believing that the opossum is really dead. You will, therefore, want to dispose of the opossum thinking that it is dead, but given a maximum of four hours, the opossum will be back to life and will continue causing havoc in your home. Experts for any good opossum control company will advise you to be cautious about any opossum that appears dead. What is suggested is that you euthanize the opossum. This will ensure that the opossum does not try to make any comeback on your property again. Having this knowledge about the behavior exhibited by the opossums helps you to have an upper hand when it comes to dealing with them and you can handle an opossum infestation in your home with more confidence. You need to ensure you have some form for of protective gear when handling an opossum that is playing dead. This is so as to prevent the spread of diseases from the opossum to you.
Another effective method of controlling opossums that is suggested by opossum removal companies is trapping. In using this method, you will first and foremost need to be knowledgeable about the use of traps. This helps to prevent an instance whereby the trap is set in an area where it fails to trap any opossum or where it traps other unintended animals such as pets which may walk into the path of the traps. There are several types of traps that can be used to trap opossums and all of them have a level of effectiveness to them. Kill traps are meant solely for the purpose of controlling the opossum population by killing the opossums instantly. This trap is good where the population of opossums is out of control and needs to be remedied urgently. You will, however, need to study the opossums keenly in order to know the best place to set the traps. Failure to do this may see you killing innocent animals. The leg-hold trap holds the leg of an opossum until when the trapper gets back and decides to release it. This method is quite humane, same goes for the cage traps which capture the animal and keep it on hold awaiting the trapper to release it. The downside of using these two traps is that you assume the liability of feeding them for as long as they are held in captivity. Be careful when approaching an opossum that is being held as it may be agitated and may want to bite and scratch. Opossums are known to spread Tuberculosis in case one gets scratched by one.
Any opossum control company worth its name will suggest to you the above methods of controlling opossums. The steps have to be followed with a lot of caution and in case of any difficulties, an opossum removal expert should be called in.