I am a marsupial with a funny name, long whiskers and my body is covered with awn hair. I can also play dead when I feel threatened, and I have the unenviable distinction of being one of the most hated creatures in all of America. Who am I?
If you correctly guessed opossum, you are either very knowledgeable or have spent what seems like an eternity dealing with these crazy creatures in your yard. If the latter describes you, then you have no doubt plotted to eliminate them.
Why would you want to get rid of an opossum?
Some people seem to detest these marsupials simply because they consider them hideous and can't bear the sight of them. Of course, I beg to differ, but that is neither here nor there. For the most part, though, opossums are a nuisance because they tend to get in all sorts of places where they are not wanted. From birdcages to sheds in your yard, no place is off-limits to these creatures, and they tend to wreak havoc wherever they end up, much like raccoons. It doesn't help that they smell really bad and carry diseases, which is all the more reason to remove them from your yard immediately.
Poison should be good….right?
Intuitively, it seems that the most effective way to eliminate opossums from your yard is to poison them. I suppose that this notion is derived from the wide use of rat poison to get rid of rats scurrying about in your house. However, there are quite a lot of problems with this idea, and it's worth looking at some of them.
The dead creature can end up anywhere
There have been reports of poisoned opossums ending up dead in attics and even underground. It might be very difficult and time-consuming to find them, and the foul smell that dead opossums give off will create this unpleasant environment that you could have avoided by simply calling wildlife control.
It could end up affecting other animals
Now, opossums are a good example of animals you don't want around your house, but other innocent animals don't share the same distinction yet the poison can end up adversely affecting them as well. Your pet animals could consume it, and before you know it, you'll be bidding them a teary-eyed farewell.
It could end up affecting small children
Just like the aforementioned pet animals, your children may also be none the wiser concerning this poison, and you don't want them to commit the terrible mistake of consuming it.
It takes too long to do its job
Rat poison can kill a rat in a couple of days. However, an opossum will take several weeks to die if it's poisoned. In fact, these marsupials are immune to venoms, thanks to a serum protein in their bloodstream which acts as a neutralizer, so the poison might not even affect them.
The law is against you
Killing opossums are illegal in some American states, and there are no legally registered opossum poisons for sale on the market. Ultimately, it is a cruel and impractical way of dealing with an opossum. There are far better measures that you can take instead.
Go back to the Pleasanton wildlife removal home page.