Opossums climb trees and get on roofs.

Customer Opossum Email: Hi, My name is Ginger and I live on a farm in Alabama. I raise a number of animals, including some chickens. Recently my chickens hatched chicks they are about 5 weeks old now. This week three mornings in a row I found a dead chick, nothing but carcass left. I started sitting vigil each night to determine what could get in and do this. Finally last night there they were, three young possums... a little larger then the one on your shoulder, mom no where in sight. I watched one closely as the other two escaped quick. Though it is the size of a huge rat it easily pushed it's entire body through one hole of chicken wire and vanished. They will be back tonight no doubt. Any ideas for me about how to handle this... Just call me desperate Ginger! Thanks

My Answer: You can either reinforce your chicken coup (it may be hard, since opossums are such good climbers) or you can have the opossums trapped and removed by a wildlife control operator.

If you need wildlife control services in your hometown, click for the National Directory of Wildlife Trappers that I've carefully compiled in every US city.

Click to go back to my full opossum removal photo gallery. Visit my opossum removal journal blog! Lots of great opossum stories!

The opossum, also commonly called the possum, is actually named the Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), and it is the only marsupial native to North America. Possums have several unique traits. Most people know that they sometimes "play possum" which is a form of playing dead, and they also know that opossums can hang from their tails. But possums are unique in many other ways - they have a low body temperature that prevents many viruses and diseases from affecting them, that tail is prehensile (they can grip things with it) they have opposable thumbs, and they have 50 teeth, the most of any land mammal. They are very opportunistic and good climbers, which causes them to commonly break into decks, sheds, and attics, where they cause considerable damage, leave a lot of droppings, and they often die and stink in these areas. Thus, opossums are considered pest animals by many people, which is why I remove them. If you want to learn more, please read my How To Get Rid of Opossums page.

AAAnimal Control is a privately owned wildlife removal and pest control business, located in Orlando Florida. I deal strictly with wild animals. I am not an extermination company, but a critter removal and control specialist. The above photos are some of the many that I've taken in the field over my years of work. Please email me if you have any questions about the above photographs, or any questions about wildlife problems or opossum control issues.

Wildlife Photographs by David     Email me with questions: david@aaanimalcontrol.com     Residential & Commercial     Licensed & Insured