Opossums Removal and Facts

OPOSSUMS

The opossum (Didelphis virginiana) found here in the San Francisco Bay Area weighs approximately 4 to 14 pounds. They have long fur that ranges from white to gray in color. Their ears and tails are hairless and they have pointed faces. Opossums have five claws on their forefeet and hindfeet. Opossums are a marsupial and carry their young in their pouch. After breeding, the gestation period is only 1 to 2 weeks. The young are born in an embryonic state, about the size of a dime. Mom has a lot of work ahead as her young number from 1 to 14 attaching themselves to her nipples for two months. Later the young will often ride on the back of their mother. Opossums can have 2 to 3 litters per year. The opossum is a nocturnal animal which means it is active at night and sleeps days. Their diet includes carrion, frogs, birds and other small creatures, worms, fruit and they love persimmons, apples and corn.

SAFETY CONCERNS

Opossums can have many defensive behaviors. They are known to "play possum" or pretend to play dead when threatened. I have been dealing with wildlife for most of my life and more often you will find a threatened opossum try to stand their ground and open their mouths to show off 50 shiny, very sharp teeth. They can produce a hefty bite. We service Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Yolo, Sacramento, Contra Costa and Marin counties trapping and removing opossums. We use only humane box traps that turn into a cage once the animal is inside. We have received awards for our many wildlife rescues.

DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES

Nuisance opossums climb trees to enter attics from Tiburon, San Rafael, Novato, Sonoma to Napa, Danville, Alamo and up through Fairfield, Vacaville and Davis to Sacramento. They tear off foundation vent screens and dig directly under the foundation to find shelter in your under floors too. They crawl up the pipes and live in the hollow areas around the tub and in the insulation. They can start bringing in dry grass and leaf material to add to their nesting site. They will often chew through the electrical wires of structures. As a former firefighter I can tell you this is often the cause of fires in structures. They can also do a great deal of damage to air ducts. We perform full inspections of attics and under floor spaces to find out how the animals are entering, looking for damage they may have done and all this while the animals are still there in these spaces.

DISEASE

Opossums in the San Francisco Bay Area can carry very many diseases including tuberculosis, herpes virus, spotted fever, relapsing fever, yellow fever, salmonella and sometimes rabies. Opossums are infested with mites, lice, fleas which carry and transmit disease.

Animal Capture And Removal

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