North America\u2019s only marsupial (mammals whose young develop in a pouch). They\u2019re more closely related to kangaroos and koalas than to the other animals in the neighborhood! <\/p>\n\n\n
Size: <\/p>\n\n\n
4\u201314 pounds. Body is 15\u201320 inches long. They often suffer frostbite and lose part of their tails and ears. <\/p>\n\n\n
Signs of their presence: <\/p>\n\n\n
Sounds: growl, hiss, screech when threatened. <\/p>\n\n\n
Evidence of their feeding: Eggs that have been chewed into many small pieces. (Raccoons usually remove one end of the shell without crushing it. Foxes carry eggs away. Weasels and mink crush the entire egg.) Opossums maul chickens beginning at the rear, while raccoons bite their heads off. <\/p>\n\n\n
Tracks: look like they were made by little human hands, fingers spread wide apart. <\/p>\n\n\n
Scats: are semi-liquid and don\u2019t last long. Left everywhere, even in the den. When scared, possums may secrete a smelly, greenish fluid out of their rear end. <\/p>\n\n\n
Diet: <\/p>\n\n\n
Opportunist. Opossums eat mostly meat (mainly insects or carrion) but they also eat many plants, especially fruits and grains. They may eat garbage, compost, pet food, bird seed, bird eggs, and young birds (turkeys, chickens, geese, and game birds). They also eat voles, shrews, worms, and toads. <\/p>\n\n\n
Typical activity patterns: <\/p>\n\n\n
Social style: Solitary. <\/p>\n\n\n
Daily activity: Usually nocturnal. <\/p>\n\n\n
Hibernator? No, but does den up for days at a time when the weather is bad. <\/p>\n\n\n
Migrates? No. <\/p>\n\n\n
Where found: <\/p>\n\n\n
Opossums can be found in rural, suburban, and urban areas such as parks. Meaning, opossums can live anywhere where food, water, and shelter are present. <\/p>\n\n\n
Habitat: Wide ranging\u2014arid to moist, woodsy to open, but more common near streams and swamps. Dens in a different place three out of four nights (except in the cold of winter). They find shelter under buildings, in brush heaps, hollow logs or trees, old crow or squirrel nests, and rock crevices. Opossums may share quarters with woodchucks, skunks, and rabbits. <\/p>\n\n\n
Territory and home range: not territorial. They have constantly shifting home ranges and may be considered nomadic. Home range is usually 10\u201350 acres. <\/p>\n\n\n
Breeding habits: <\/p>\n\n\n
Pair bonding style: Polygamous. Females raise the young alone. <\/p>\n\n\n
Breeding dates: February\u2013June. Most females, though, have just 1\u20132 litters per year. The young are born about 13 days after breeding. <\/p>\n\n\n
Litter size: 6\u201316, average 8. <\/p>\n\n\n
Life in a pouch: The tiny (about 1\/2\u2033 long) young are born blind and helpless. They must crawl into the mother\u2019s pouch and attach to a nipple. They\u2019ll remain in the pouch for 7\u20138 weeks, firmly attached to that nipple. Then, for about two weeks, they\u2019ll begin to explore the world, often riding on the mother\u2019s back. They\u2019ll return to her pouch to nurse. They\u2019re weaned at about 3 months old and are generally fully independent by the time they\u2019re seven inches long. <\/p>\n\n\n
Amount of time young remain with parents beyond weaning date: 3\u20134 weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n
Common nuisance situations: <\/p>\n\n\n
Opossums can be a nuisance throughout the year in various manners. <\/p>\n\n\n
Situations in which opossums are causing a nuisance include: <\/p>\n\n\n
Raiding gardens, chicken coops, bird feeders, pet food, and garbage. <\/p>\n\n\n
Denning in the garage or attic and creating a mess. <\/p>\n\n\n
Causing horses to become lame through a parasite in their fecal matter <\/p>\n\n\n
A parasite found in the feces of opossums can contaminate water and food sources for horses (both hay and feed). <\/p>\n\n\n
This parasite can transmit a disease to horses, called \u201cequine protozoal myelitis.\u201d This disease affects the nervous system and can cause the animal to become lame. <\/p>\n\n\n
Being a vector for diseases harmful to humans and pets. <\/p>\n\n\n
These diseases include mange and rabies. <\/p>\n\n\n
Not all opossums have rabies <\/p>\n\n\n
A hissing or drooling opossum is not necessarily rabid. When threatened, a healthy opossum may bare its teeth, make a lot of noise, drool, bite, or leak a nasty fluid out of its rear. Stress may cause them to play dead, which might confuse predators and keep them from being eaten. <\/p>\n\n\n
Legal status in Vermont: <\/p>\n\n\n
Protected. Furbearer species with a set trapping season. Opossums can be hunted year round in Vermont. <\/p>\n\n\n
Best practices <\/p>\n\n\n
Opossums tend to move around often, and usually don\u2019t stay in one den site. Through modifyous. Females raise the young alone. <\/p>\n\n\n
Breeding dates: February\u2013June. Most females, though, have just 1\u20132 litters per year. The young are born about 13 days after breeding. <\/p>\n\n\n
Litter size: 6\u201316, average 8. <\/p>\n\n\n
Life in a pouch: The tiny (about 1\/2\u2033 long) young are born blind and helpless. They must crawl into the mother\u2019s pouch and attach to a nipple. They\u2019ll remain in the pouch for 7\u20138 weeks, firmly attached to that nipple. Then, for about two weeks, they\u2019ll begin to explore the world, often riding on the mother\u2019s back. They\u2019ll return to her pouch to nurse. They\u2019re weaned at about 3 months old and are generally fully independent by the time they\u2019re seven inches long. <\/p>\n\n\n
Amount of time young remain with parents beyond weaning date: 3\u20134 weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n
Common nuisance situations: <\/p>\n\n\n
Opossums can be a nuisance throughout the year in various manners. <\/p>\n\n\n
Situations in which opossums are causing a nuisance include: <\/p>\n\n\n
Raiding gardens, chicken coops, bird feeders, pet food, and garbage. <\/p>\n\n\n
Denning in the garage or attic and creating a mess. <\/p>\n\n\n
Causing horses to become lame through a parasite in their fecal matter <\/p>\n\n\n
A parasite found in the feces of opossums can contaminate water and food sources for horses (both hay and feed). <\/p>\n\n\n
This parasite can transmit a disease to horses, called \u201cequine protozoal myelitis.\u201d This disease affects the nervous system and can cause the animal to become lame. <\/p>\n\n\n
Being a vector for diseases harmful to humans and pets. <\/p>\n\n\n
These diseases include mange and rabies. <\/p>\n\n\n
Not all opossums have rabies <\/p>\n\n\n
A hissing or drooling opossum is not necessarily rabid. When threatened, a healthy opossum may bare its teeth, make a lot of noise, drool, bite, or leak a nasty fluid out of its rear. Stress may cause them to play dead, which might confuse predators and keep them from being eaten. <\/p>\n\n\n
Legal status in Vermont: <\/p>\n\n\n
Protected. Furbearer species with a set trapping season. Opossums can be hunted year round in Vermont. <\/p>\n\n\n
Best practices <\/p>\n\n\n
Opossums tend to move around often, and usually don\u2019t stay in one den site. Through modifying the habitat, the opossum may move on to find a more suitable place to live. <\/p>\n\n\n
Trapping the opossum: <\/p>\n\n\n
An opossum rarely will turn up an easy meal. <\/p>\n\n\n
Setting a live trap where they have been active can often alleviate the issue <\/p>\n\n\n
Remove food sources: <\/p>\n\n\n
Put trash out in morning instead of the evening. <\/p>\n\n\n
Opossum-proof garbage cans with a tight-fitting lid, or secure it with straps. <\/p>\n\n\n
Don\u2019t leave pet food out at night. <\/p>\n\n\n
Feed pets inside <\/p>\n\n\n
Enclose compost piles in a framed box using hardware cloth; in a sturdy container, such as a 55-gallon drum; or in a commercial composter. <\/p>\n\n\n
Keep the area under bird feeders clean. <\/p>\n\n\n
Remove shelter: <\/p>\n\n\n
Remove brush piles and debris from the lawn. <\/p>\n\n\n
Close garage doors at night. <\/p>\n\n\n
Patch any holes in barns, sheds, or garages that can act as an entry way for opossums. <\/p>\n\n\n
Block entry and exits to under the porch or deck <\/p>\n\n\n
Protect vulnerable livestock: <\/p>\n\n\n
Close and secure the doors to the poultry houses, and if birds are caged, keep those doors closed, too. <\/p>\n\n\n
To keep opossums from climbing over a wire mesh fence, install a tightly stretched electric wire near the top of the fence, about 3\u2033 out from the mesh. <\/p>\n\n\n
Install an electric fence around the hen house or use hardware cloth to cover holes and potential entrances. <\/p>\n\n\n
Trapping strategies: <\/p>\n\n\n
Live traps:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n Opossums are easily caught with cage traps. <\/p>\n\n\n Baits for the traps include fish, cat food, cheese, fruit, or dog food. <\/p>\n\n\n These baits may also attract and lead to the capture of a non-target animal so be prepared to deal with species other than opossums. <\/p>\n\n\n If translocation is not an option the opossum may have to be euthanized in the trap and then disposed of properly. <\/p>\n\n\n Foothold traps <\/p>\n\n\n Opossums can be slow, so it\u2019s possible to capture them by hand, or with the use of a catchpole. Grasp the end of the tail (wear heavy gloves because they have sharp teeth). If you\u2019re holding an opossum and it tries to climb its tail to reach (and bite) your hand, lower it to the ground, where it will attempt to crawl away. <\/p>\n\n\n If bitten, contact a doctor and check if the opossum must be dispatched and sent in for rabies testing. <\/p>\n\n\n Assume that a female opossum has young in her pouch during the rearing season (March\u2013August). The females are not likely to retrieve young, so make sure that all her babies are either in her pouch or clinging to her before you release her. <\/p>\n\n\n Lethal traps: <\/p>\n\n\n Opossums can be taken with body-gripping traps <\/p>\n\n\n Body-gripping traps must have a jaw spread no greater than 8 inches. Unless those traps with an inside spread over 8 inches is 5 feet off the ground or in water. <\/p>\n\n\n Preferred killing methods: <\/p>\n\n\n CO2 chamber <\/p>\n\n\n Lethal trap <\/p>\n\n\n Lethal injection of barbiturate, if possible <\/p>\n\n\n Shooting, using a shotgun with #6 shot or larger, or a .22 caliber rifle (heart\/lungs shot is preferred). Why is just the heart\/lungs shot listed as preferred? The head shot is difficult because opossums have very small brains located in a relatively large skull\u2014and there\u2019s a strong crest on their skull, which can deflect the bullet. See the illustrations on the next page for more information about the head shot. <\/p>\n\n\n Properly targeting a head shot for an opossum is challenging because their brains are much smaller than you\u2019d guess, looking at the size of their heads. Looking at the side of the opossum\u2019s head, imagine a direct line between the eye and ear. Now, aim slightly below that, closer to the base of the ear. Position the gun very close to the head. <\/p>\n\n\n Acceptable killing methods: <\/p>\n\n\n Gunshot to the head (this is a difficult target and should only be attempted by NWCOs who are more experienced and skilled in the use of firearms) <\/p>\n\n\n Stunning and chest compression <\/p>\n\n\n Stunning and exsanguination <\/p>\n\n\n Control Methods that don\u2019t work particularly well, or aren\u2019t legal in Vermont: <\/p>\n\n\n Set up motion-activated devices such as lights or sprinkles around your house or in areas where opossums tend to visit frequently. <\/p>\n\n\n Spread ammonia or garlic scents in areas frequented by opossums. <\/p>\n\n\n Apply chemical repellents to structures such as gardens and flowerbeds <\/p>\n\n\n Fence off gardens or fruit trees. <\/p>\n\n\n Collect dog hair and spread it around the opossum has been frequenting. The scent of a potential predator can cause the opossum to think twice about coming into the area. <\/p>\n\n\n Fence off areas in which an opossum may like to hide in. Such as, under a deck or a shed. <\/p>\n\n\n For information on legal pesticides follow the link https:\/\/agriculture.vermont.gov\/public-health-agricultural-resource-management-division\/pesticide-programs<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n Interesting Facts and Myths <\/p>\n\n\n Not all opossums have rabies <\/p>\n\n\n A hissing or drooling opossum is not necessarily rabid. When threatened, a healthy opossum may bare its teeth, make a lot of noise, drool, bite, or leak a nasty fluid out of its rear. <\/p>\n\n\n Stress may cause them to play dead, this can confuse predators and keep them from being eaten. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" North America\u2019s only marsupial (mammals whose young develop in a pouch). They\u2019re more closely related to kangaroos and koalas than to the … Continue reading Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)<\/span> <\/td><\/tr> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n