Opossum Control

The Damage

Opossums can damage your home inside and out. They will destroy your garden by eating fruits and vegetables and will eat any pet food left unsecured outdoors. They will also make a mess of garbage bins and compost piles while looking for food. If an opossum finds a way to enter your home, they will eat pet food or other accessible food. While not normally aggressive, they could attack if cornered.

The Health Risks

Tularemia:
Opossum also carry tularemia, which is transmitted to them by insects. Humans can contract tularemia from an infected opossum through contact with it or its fecal matter. Always wear gloves when dealing with a dead animal, and never touch a live wild animal. A skin ulcer appears at the site the bacteria entered the body. It is accompanied by swollen lymph glands. It can eventually lead to a cough, chest pain, and difficulty breathing.

Vector-borne Illness:
Opossum carry lice, fleas, and ticks on them that can infest homes and transmit illnesses like Lyme disease and tularemia to humans and pets. Lyme causes nerve pain, stiffness, and inflammation of the brain or spinal cord. Tularemia causes swollen lymph nodes and ulcers.

The Modern Solution for Opossum Control

A Wildlife Control Team member will assess your situation and determine if you have an opossum issue based on damage to gardens and droppings. Exclusion is usually the most effective way to keep opossum from getting into your home. This done by sealing up any openings with wire mesh and by trenching. Trenching works by digging a trench around the foundation of a structure and lining it with a material that animals can’t chew or dig through. Opossum can also be trapped and relocated.

When you partner with Modern Pest Services, you’ll never have to worry about a pest, rodent or wildlife issue again!

Will My Homeowners Insurance Cover Wildlife Damage?

Since every homeowners insurance policy is different, it’s important to talk with your agent and find out exactly what is covered by yours.

Most standard home and mobile home insurance policies will cover damage to your home by a wild animal if the animal is not a rodent. Some common nuisance rodents are mice, rats, chipmunks, flying and ground squirrels, groundhogs, and porcupines. Bats, birds, raccoons, and weasels are not rodents, and are often covered.

Usually, the damage must have occurred in a single, identifiable event. If it occurred over a gradual period and preventable action could have been taken, it might not be covered.

When you’re shopping for a policy, talk with an agent about possible wildlife damage scenarios you could face. They will be able to inform you on whether the policy offers coverage in each scenario.