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Guaranteed Opossum Control, Removal, & Prevention in Seattle, Washington

Opossum Removal and Control in Seattle

Opossum Biology: Opossums are one of North America's more unusual creatures. The official name of the possum is the Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana). They are North America's only marsupials. The mothers have a pouch in which they raise the newborn young. Inside the pouch are 13 nipples, to which the young attach. As they grow older, thy move out of the pouch and cling to the mother's back. Eventually they drop off to live on their own. They are primarily scavengers, and will eat almost anything. They seem to prefer meat and carrion. They have 50 teeth, the most of any mammal. Opossums have prehensile tails, from which they can, but rarely do, hang, and opposable thumbs. They are also known for the behavior of playing dead, or "playing possum" although I believe that this behavior is rare.

Nuisance Concerns: As scavengers, opossums will dig through your trash or steal your pet's food. They also often choose to live inside buildings and attics. When opossums live inside attics, they create a lot of waste and damage.

  

As is the case with any wild animal, there is always a risk of disease when you come across a wild opossum. Now, as a general rule, rabies is not a disease that you will need to concern yourself with, with this rather strange looking character, simply because the body temperature of the animal is so low that the virus would struggle to survive. However, there are a number of other problems that you will need to concern yourself with, especially if you have household pets or horses.

There are a large number of diseases associated with this marsupial, and among the most popular, you will find tuberculosis, (although many humans are vaccinated against this) leptospirosis, relapsing fever, trichomoniasis, spotted fever and toxoplasmosis. Of course, you also need to be wary of mites, fleas and ticks, especially if you have other animals in or around your home.

Starting with leptospirosis, this is a bacterial disease that is rather unfriendly, especially to humans. With an average time of around ten days to develop, you will notice symptoms including a dry cough and fever, headache, muscle pains and spasms and nausea. Although this one is rare, it can be contracted with water that has been contaminated with the urine of an infected animal, such as the opossum, which means if you have one in the foundations or framework of your homes, you should do everything in your power to ensure that the situation is dealt with properly.

Toxoplasmosis is another very dangerous disease caused by a parasite, and although normally carried by cats, can be caught from an infected opossum, usually from the feces or urine, which could contaminate food or soil – something that you need to be equally aware of when dealing with rodents or other creatures such as the opossum. In short, if you have an opossum problem, your best bet is to have it dealt with by a professional to ensure that you are putting you or your family is no danger of disease.

This is a professional wildlife removal company based in Seattle Washington. We provide pest control for wild animals only, not extermination of insects. If you have nuisance critters that you need to get rid of, we can humanely take care of the problem.

Tel: (206) 799-6403   •   Fax: 206.260.7301   •   sean@seattlepestanimalcontrol.com   •   Residential & Commercial   •   Licensed & Insured