Opossum Removal Nassau County, Long Island, New York

Opossums Nassau County, Long Island, New York

The opossum, which is also known as a possum resembles a large rat, but it isn't a rodent. Opossums are marsupials, which are a class of animals in which the young are born in an immature state and are reared in the mother's pouch until they become mature. These critters originated in South America and entered North America 2.7 million years ago during the Great American Interchange. Possums are very primitive mammals and are the only marsupials native to North America. Opossums have been in existence for at least seventy million years and are one of the Earth's oldest surviving mammals. Opossums have been around since the time of the dinosaurs and have evolved little since then. Possums have fifty teeth, which is more teeth than any other North American mammal has. An Opossum has four different types of teeth in its oral cavity: eighteen incisors in the front of the mouth, sixteen molars toward the back, four canines and twelve premolars, between the canines and the molars. Opossums are very intelligent animals with outstanding memories. However, the primitive brains of opossums process information slowly, making them slow to react to car headlights, other animals and people. Possums are about the size of a cat, measuring two to three feet in length and weighing as much as fifteen pounds. Male possums, called Jacks are larger than female opossums, called Jills. The face of the opossum is light gray to white, whereas the general color of the fur from neck to buttocks is grayish white. Possums have a long tapered hairless prehensile tail and a cone-shaped head, tapering to a slender, elongated snout tipped by a pink-colored nose. The innermost toe of each hind foot of the opossum is referred to as a hallux and is clawless and opposable. Opossums are extremely good tree climbers and use their long prehensile tail and opposable halluces on their hind feet to ascend trees. In addition to serving as a climbing tool, the possum's tail also functions to store fat. Nevertheless, opossums have very little body fat, so they must hunt for food year round. An opossum uses its keen sense of smell, visual acuity, and hearing to locate food. Opossums are semiarboreal, opportunistic, omnivorous scavengers that have excellent night vision, but relatively poor distance vision. These nocturnal animals feed on fruit, nuts, berries, grains, insects, slugs, shellfish, snakes, snails, frogs, mice, garbage, eggs, carrion, and birds. While nearly all animals fear snakes, an opossum sees its next meal. Opossums have partial or total immunity to the venom produced by rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and other pit vipers. Essentially recluse wandering mammals, possums avoid one another except during the breeding season in the later part of winter. The opossum mating season brings about two major outcomes. First, male opossums will increase their territorial range in search of a mate and in doing so, they become more susceptible to injury or death via motor vehicles and predators. Second, female opossums weighed down with babies cannot run as quickly and have to search for food earlier in the evening and later in the morning. This results in the female opossums exposing themselves to an increase in encounters with people, motor vehicles, and predators. In the wild, the opossum's life expectancy is only one to two years. Possums do have a placenta, but it lasts only a short time and isn't fully functional. Consequently, the offspring are born underdeveloped and without delay, crawl into their mother's pouch where they live and nurse. A female opossum gives birth to sixteen to twenty babies, only twelve to thirteen days after mating, which is the shortest gestation period of any North American animal. The litter, called joeys will remain in the mother's pouch for roughly ten weeks. As the joeys become too large to fit in the pouch, they climb onto their mother's back and are carried as she forages for food. The offspring are weaned at around three months of age and are on their own at approximately 4.5 to 5 months of age. Opossums become sexually mature at six to eight months of age. Most female opossums produce two litters per year and occasionally a third. Predators of opossums include eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and dogs. The animal's most renowned skill, playing possum, is an involuntary response to a threat. If hissing, growling, lunging or displaying its teeth does not avert a threat, an opossum actually enters into a catatonic state from the stress. While in this comatose-like state, the opossum will extend its tongue, foam at the mouth and a foul-smelling fluid is discharged from its anal gland. This tactic may result in a predator looking for its dinner elsewhere. Opossums reside in or near wooded areas, especially those in the vicinity of water. Opossums may enter water and can swim well both on and below the surface. Possums do not build their own shelters. These critters will sometimes take up residence in a squirrel's nest in a tree. However, opossums much prefer to inhabit the abandon underground dens of foxes, skunks, and groundhogs. They will also seek refuge in tree hollows, woodpiles, garages, sheds, basements, attics, under porches, and decks of Nassau County, Long Island residences.

Opossum Diseases & Parasites

Opossums harbor diseases such as leptospirosis, tularemia, toxoplasmosis, relapsing fever, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, spotted fever, tuberculosis, and Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis). Possums have a low body temperature and a robust immune system, making them highly resistant to the rabies virus. These animals may also be infested with fleas, ticks, mites, and lice.

Opossum Removal Nassau County, Long Island, New York

Opossum Inspection - Is the first step in the opossum control process. Nassau County Wildlife Control nuisance animal trappers will be looking for evidence of opossums on your property, which may include:

Opossum Footprints - Front and hind feet both have five digits. The innermost digit on the hind foot is clawless, opposable, and looks like a human thumb.

Opossum Lairs - They line their dens with leaves and twigs, which they bring to their nest using their prehensile tail.

Opossum Excrement - Is approximately the same size as cat droppings. Possum droppings are 1 to 3 inches in length and taper to a pointed end.

How To Get Rid Of Opossums Nassau County, New York

Opossum Repellents

There are a countless number of opossum repellents on the market to pick from, including coyote urine, fox urine, bobcat urine, ultrasonic sound emitting gadgets, light repellents, wildlife granular repellents, motion activated wildlife water repellent devices, and liquid spray repellents. There is no scientific research demonstrating that any of these products actually work. The truth is, none of these quick fix wildlife control repellents effectively gets rid of opossums.

Opossum Trapping

Humane opossum trapping has been shown to be the only effective way to get rid of an opossum and it is the method used by wildlife removal experts at Nassau County Wildlife Control. Knowing what type of humane opossum trap to use and what bait to use is largely contingent upon what time of the year it is. The possum trapping techniques that our Nassau County opossum removal wildlife trappers use, is also dependent upon the situation and where the opossums are entering your Nassau County home, or business. Opossum removal prices are dependent upon what would be entailed in the Long Island opossum removal process. Our Nassau County Wildlife Control animal trapping experts know what humane opossum trap and what opossum bait to use in every situation.

Opossum Exclusion

Upon the completion of the humane opossum removal, we will send out a licensed Nassau County contractor to give you a free estimate on any wildlife repairs that need to be done to your Nassau County, Long Island residence, or business to keep opossums out. Our licensed New York State nuisance wildlife control operators will suggest any modifications that can be made to your home, or business to avert future encounters with opossums or unwanted wildlife.