Opossums are known to consume at least 12 species of snakes, including venomous ones. They also consume ticks, fire ants, and have a very low occurrence of rabies – a cool animal to have around.
Opossums eat fruits, snakes (opossums are immune to all types of snake venom, except that of the coral snake), insects, snails, slugs, eggs, mice, rats, fish, frogs, crayfish, carrion and TICKS!
In fact, if you live around some snakes, you might be surprised to find that possums actually prey on snakes. Possums even hunt venomous snakes that could actually put your family at risk.
Searching for food
While most of their foraging happens at night, opossums can occasionally be seen in the daylight. If food is scarce, they will spend as much time as necessary to locate it, scavenging at all hours. This is especially true during harsh winters.
Opossums have high mortality rates at all ages. They are killed by dogs, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, bobcats, eagles, hawks, and owls, with young opossums being the most vulnerable.
In addition to ammonia and mothballs, possums will also steer clear of odors of vinegar, garlic, onion, peppermint, and camphor. These strong scents are often used as natural repellents to keep opossums away from gardens, trash cans, and other areas where they may be unwanted.
Possums respond negatively to noxious odors. They abhor the smell of ammonia, garlic, and napthalene (chemical found in moth balls). They are also afraid of lights at night, and don't like to be wet.
Solution: In general, opossums are docile, non-aggressive animals and will not attack your pets. They prefer to avoid confrontations. If escape is not possible then the threatened opossum may “play 'possum”, show its teeth, or bite in self-defense, as any animal would.
“Opossums are shy, harmless animals who are the size of an average housecat,” says Lynsey White, director of humane wildlife conflict resolution for The Humane Society of the United States. “They do not pose any danger to people or pets and [they] want to avoid [us] if they can.”
Possums are repelled by the stench of garlic, ammonia and mothballs. So go ahead and scatter those around where you think possums might hang out. Garlic works best when it's crushed. If you decide to use ammonia, be careful!
In 2015, a family in Brisbane photographed a similar incident. It was the second python-vs-possum report from that year. Small animals like rats, birds and possums make up the bulk of the carpet python's diet, although younger snakes usually prefer to dine on lizards.
Opossums also enjoy eating snakes, and will kill and eat all snakes including poisonous ones. They are immune to the snake venom, and relish copperhead, water moccasins, rattlesnakes, and others.
Opossums do not prey on cats or other larger mammals but will attack them if cornered, or if competing for food. Opossums cause loss to home gardens by eating nuts, berries, fruits, and grapes.
We have noted at Walkabout Park that most kangaroos bitten by snakes are hand-raised kangaroos. We have seen a disproportionately larger number of hand-raised kangaroos bitten, relative to wild raised kangaroos.
The most poisonous animal in the world lives off the coast of Australia: the box jellyfish. This jellyfish - also known as cube jellyfish or stinger - has 15 long tentacles that are full of deadly poison.
Opossum are not aggressive: their open-mouth, defensive hissing is merely a bluff to look vicious. And if that doesn't work they play dead when really scared! If there is an opossum in the backyard, don't worry. They aren't a threat, and more than likely they will be moving on in a short while.
Possums aren't aggressive, however, they do have the tendency to eat whatever they can and take shelter anywhere they feel safe, including inside the household roof.
Do not feed possums almonds, cheese, onions, dairy products, green potatoes or junk food. Put food in containers in high, sheltered areas.
Carbon dioxide gas is the most appropriate technique to euthanize opossums. Opossums also can be humanely killed with a gunshot to the head, if legal and safe in your area.
Aim to start a disturbance near where the opossum is to startle the opossum and make it want to leave. Making a loud noise or playing loud music usually is enough to get the animal to retreat off your property. If noise doesn't do the trick, you can try setting up balloons, pinwheels or oscillating fans in your yard.
Opossums are omnivorous and are beneficial to humans because they cause very little damage and they consume undesirable insects, snails, and slugs. The many beneficial qualities of opossums include: Keeping neighborhoods clear of unwanted pests like cockroaches, rats, and mice.
The Species Has Its Weaknesses
So does the cold. The opossum's body is not able to put on layers of fat to insulate it through the winter, so it has to huddle in its den (or your barn) to survive any temperatures below 19 degrees.
Main predators include dogs, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, large hawks, and great horned owls. The chance of rabies in opossums is extremely rare.
Produce loud noises
Possums are shy animals, and they will usually avoid areas with a lot of noise. You can make noise by playing music, banging on pots and pans, or using a loud air horn.