Discovering an opossum on your property is likely to have you reaching for your phone in a hurry. While it’s important to have a wildlife control expert remove it from the premises, opossums do have many characteristics worth celebrating. In many ways, they provide significant health benefits! Here’s what you need to know about these furry animals.

Why Should We Celebrate Opossums?

1. Pest Annihilators

While many consider them pests, too, opossums do a fine job on their own of eliminating the very critters that might lead you to contact wildlife control services. They eat outdoor creatures of all kinds, from beetles to cockroaches to slugs, along with more menacing pests like rats and mice. What’s more, they’re known to feed on carrion, or dead animals, which might otherwise simply rot in your yard or garden instead.

2. Garden Friends

Just call them natural garden protectors. These marsupials don’t dig at the soil—instead, they feed on the snails, toads, and rodents that might otherwise attempt to destroy your garden and eat away at your hard work. They also dine on rotting fruits and plants that would likely otherwise litter the space and take away from its natural beauty, a trait gardeners should appreciate. A study conducted by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies also found that they’re highly efficient at destroying as many as 90% of the ticks that attempt to feed on them!

3. Disease Immunity

Opossums are surprisingly immune to many diseases, which makes them less dangerous than other pests in general. Of course, you’ll still want wildlife control to handle any type of home animal removal situation if there’s an opossum running amuck on your property. But you can take some comfort in knowing they’re immune to rabies due to their low body temperature, which creates an inhospitable environment for the disease.

American Bio-Tech Wildlife Services is the leading source for dependable animal removal throughout Connecticut. Based in New Milford, these wildlife control specialists are committed to humane practices. In addition to opossums, they can help rid your property of raccoons, bats, skunks, and snakes, among other animals. They even offer wildlife damage repair services provided by their experienced technicians. You can visit them online to find out more about their animal control services, or call them at (860) 355-1231 to schedule an appointment.