West Palm Beach is known by many as a go-to holiday destination that has attractive white sandy beaches and exotic beach resorts that give you the real feel of a vacation. This area in Miami metropolitan has been a sweetheart for many tourists and visitors from all over the world. In recent times, however, there has come up an opossum infestation that is threatening to rob the city of its beauty and pride. The rise in the number of opossums has led to many residents enquiring about opossum control West Palm Beach services to help remedy this situation.
Opossums are very vicious colonizers and they will not hesitate to topple any previously settled animals in the area that they are targeting to take over. They do this by multiplying rapidly provided they have an abundant supply of food and water. With these two factors available to them, opossums will grow in numbers at a rate that you cannot fathom. As a homeowner, you need to step in and gain control of their rapid multiplication beforehand. Opossums will scare away any animals that they find in the locale that they want to live in. They do this by growling in a nasty sound that sends shivers down the spine of other animals. They also have a frightening appearance with a set of sharp teeth that they like to rub against in order to make clicking noises. Despite this very scary appearance, the opossums are generally not harmful to human beings except when they are cornered. When opossums feel like they have been cornered, they will want to bite and scratch in order to defend themselves. These scratches are known to one of the mediums through which tuberculosis and other fungal and bacterial infections are spread.
Opossum control West Palm Beach can be possible through the use of home solutions that will only require nothing more but your patience. The first method of opossum control that we shall explore is trapping. Opossums can be trapped and relocated to another area or euthanized one by one, this is sure to help you control the population of these marsupials significantly. In order to trap an opossum, you will need a trap almost the size of a raccoon trap in case you fail to find the appropriate size trap. Next, you will need to have is some form of protective gear such as gloves, this is meant to help you avoid obtaining scratches and bites from an opossum if it should be agitated. You will then need to identify where the opossums have built their nest in your garden. Failure to do this will mean that your traps will fail to capture any opossums since they will be set up in the wrong place. Observe the marks left behind by the opossums as they make their movements in your garden. Pouring sand in the paths that you suspect to be most susceptible helps you confirm whether you are right or not. Once you have identified this, then it is time to set up your trap by following the guidelines that the animal store attendant gave to you. You will need to check the traps each morning to see if any opossums have been trapped. The reason for this is because opossums are nocturnal beings that are most active at night. This should also give you an idea as to where you are most likely to locate an opossum nest.
There are several types of traps that can be used in opossum control West Palm Beach. The first type of trap is a leg-hold trap, this works by holding the opossum by the leg in place until the trapper comes and releases it. Leghold traps are not quite efficient in the control of opossums because they can easily capture other animals such as pets that you may be having at home. You will thus need more precision when setting up leg hold traps since their repeated capture of another animal can be very frustrating and may even make you lose hope of ever capturing the opossums on your property. The next type of trap is a cage trap which I’m sure you are familiar with. This one works by allowing the opossum to walk into it and then it closes behind it immediately. This kind of trap is also not quite efficient as you will need to decide on what next to do to the opossum after you have captured it. The last type of trap is a kill trap, this type of trap works by hitting the opossum on the head with a blunt object and thus killing it instantly. This is the most efficient of all the available opossum traps only that should it happen your pet tries to go through it, then it will be killed by it. With these options available to you, you will need to decide objectively on what type of trap you are willing to use in your opossum control activity.
As you continue on your opossum control West Palm Beach endeavor, one thing that you need to be well aware of is the tendency of opossums to ‘play possum’ that is to act dead and falling you into believing that they are dead. An opossum once it senses that it may be in danger, triggers its body system to release a certain chemical that freezes its bodily functions and makes it appear dead. In addition to this, the opossum releases a certain fluid that gives it body the smell of a rotting carcass and thus you will want to get rid of it thinking it is dead. The possum will the after some time return to its normal state. It is advisable that should you meet a possum that is playing dead, you kill it to prevent the possibility of it causing any further nuisance.
Opossum control West Palm Beach is possible if the above-suggested methods are implemented with the precision that is required. Remember that patience is key in this entire process.