The only known marsupials found in North America, opossums usually live alone and are active at night. You may spot an opossum in your garden eating snails, slugs, insects, ticks, and small rodents. If you believe that you are dealing with an opossum infestation, wildlife removal should be handled by a professional Fort Myers pest control company like our team at Stat Pest Control.
Problems Opossums Cause In Fort Myers
Opossums are marsupials that are highly adaptable and can survive in different varied conditions. They can are usually around the size of a house cat, about 40 inches in length. You can recognize an opossum by its long and pointed face, its round, hairless ears, and its rat-like tail. Opossums are usually white or gray in color, have four legs, and have a pouch on their stomach to carry newborns.
You’ll find opossums in the eastern, central, and west coast regions of the United States. Fort Myers and the rest of Florida are no exceptions to opossum presence.
Opossum control is necessary due to the problems that they cause. While they are fairly harmless and not aggressive, they are considered to be nuisance pests due to some issues that they bring.
The main concern with opossums is the diseases that they unknowingly bring, usually via fleas and mites. Opossums can carry diseases such as tuberculosis, spotted fever, leptospirosis, tularemia, and more. Rabies is highly unlikely to come with opossums, but that doesn’t remove the risk of contracting other diseases.
Another problem that comes with opossums is their unique smell. If threatened or frightened, opossums play dead and release a horrible, foul stench. This smell can become nauseating if you happen to have opossums lurking around your property.
Opossums in Fort Myers can also be quite destructive. Unbeknownst to them, opossums can ruin your yard and other outdoor areas with their feces and by nesting, scratching, and gnawing. This also stands true if they’ve found their way inside your attic, garage, or other indoor areas. Opossums may also destroy gardens, compost piles, or garbage bins while searching for food.
What Attracts Opossums To Your Property
Since opossums are versatile and adaptable creatures, they can survive in various habitats, even among humans. Wondering what attracts opossums to your property or yard? You’ll usually find an opossum around hollow logs and piles of wood, or inside your garage or attic. You’re also likely to see a possum if your yard is near water, such as a sewer, pond, lake, or canal.
Opossums will be attracted to your property if you leave food in your garbage cans. Overflowing garbage cans or odorous ones can attract opossums, and so can uncovered compost piles and open containers left outside. Opossums try to scavenge whenever they can and are by no means considered picky eaters. Thus, to prevent opossums from being attracted to your property, try to remove any traces of garbage and food.
Professional wildlife removal is necessary once opossums have decided to nest in or around your home.
Why DIY Opossum Prevention Tips Often Fail
Some opossum control methods and prevention tips from DIY-ers include keeping any holes under decks or patios filled, removing food and garbage sources, and repelling opossums with scents of mothballs or ammonia.
Why is it that DIY opossum prevention tips often fail? For one thing, some methods can backfire and be harmful to your health, such as working with mothballs and ammonia. You may find yourself hurting opossums, endangering yourself and your family, or contaminating your home. Effective opossum pest control should only be done by a professional wildlife control company. Unlike DIY-ers, we have the experience readily available to properly and safely get rid of and prevent opossums. We won’t make mistakes, and we’ll be sure we get the job done right.
When You Should Call The Experts At Stat Pest Control
At the first sight of an opossum, you’ll want to call our expert pest control team at Stat Pest Control. We’ll be able to determine whether you’re only dealing with one or two opossums or a larger issue. Since opossums can have between two to three litters per year, and an average of seven young in each litter, a few opossums spotted could eventually multiply into a much larger problem. Ideally, we would step in to help before the problem gets worse.
Here at Stat Pest Control, we pride ourselves in providing quality customer service, a keen eye for attention to detail, and empathy for wildlife and humans alike. Whether your opossum problem is commercial or residential, we hope you’ll give us a chance to show you just how efficient our work is.
For the best opossum control in Fort Myers, give us a call today!
