Opossum Control Services in Colorado

At first glance, they look like an oversized rat. Opossums are a completely different species. Adults reach the size of a house cat, and are marsupials who keep their young in their mother’s pouch. If you find that you have Opossum dens infesting your home, your Colorado Pest Pros professional can help you.

How to Control Opossum

Making your garbage cans animal-proof and making compost piles inaccessible will help keep them away. Since they are very good tree climbers, if you have tree limbs hanging near the eaves of your roof, keeping them trimmed will dissuade them from moving into your home. Your pest professional can help you determine what lifestyle and home access changes might need to be made.

Opossum Control 3-Step Process

  1. Identification. Once the pest professional has identified the extent of the problem, they will know the best way to treat your infestation.
  2. Evaluation. The pest professional will find the nests, and evaluate home factors such as pets and children to determine the safest manner of extermination. All products and techniques used by Colorado Pest Pros are non-toxic, pet-friendly and safe.
  3. Removal. Once all the factors are evaluated, appropriate removal techniques will be applied.

Opossum: Did You Know?

  • Common opossums only live for about two years.
  • Opossums are the only marsupial animal living in the United States.
  • When opossums are threatened or hurt, they are quite adept at playing dead. They will even show their teeth and foam at the mouth as if ill. This is where the term ‘playing possum’ comes from.
  • Opossums will tear up pipes and ductwork leaving significant damage to the home in an effort to enter the premises and build their den.
  • When a mother opossum has a litter that has left her pouch, you will normally find them riding on their mother’s back.

There are 103 species of Opossum. Most are found in North America with a similar species of marsupial in Australia and New Zealand known as Possum. The Virginia opossum is the species found in Colorado.

Opossums give birth to litters of usually seven young. They normally have two to three litters every year. They live in their mother’s pouch for the first several weeks of life. Opossums are very solitary in nature except when they are breeding. They primarily eat fruit, insects, and grains but have also been known to feast on birds and small animals.

Opossums look like a very large rat. Their faces are white, their ears are round with no hair, and their bodies are gray. They are very agile creatures who are solitary animals unless they are breeding. Their tails are long and thin like that of a rat. If mother opossum is in the process of raising a litter, she will transport her young on her back.

Opossums are very nocturnal and you will rarely encounter one during the daylight hours. They have opposable thumbs on their hind paws that enable them to climb trees. They are known to make their dens inside of empty logs, attics, and basements of residential homes if they have access.