Opossums on Long Island

Recently, a Suburban Exterminating customer called in reporting an opossum in her Brentwood home.  Most wildlife foundations do not recommend trying to get rid of a trapped opossum in your home by yourself.  Call a professional!  Read for further information on Suburban Exterminating’s nuisance wildlife removal solutions, or call (516) 864-6900 or (631) 864-6900 for a free estimate.

Opossum Facts

The Virginia opossum, most commonly seen in North America, is a “cousin” to the Australian possum.  It is a marsupial, but the similarities to kangaroos and koalas end there.  They are, generally, harmless, but can cause minor property damage looking for food.

• Opossums are nocturnal.  Unlike raccoons, they try and avoid humans and very rarely carry rabies because of a low body temperature.
• They may bite when approached by a predator, but prefer to “play possum”: appearing dead and emitting a decaying odor to keep intruders away.
• They eat cockroaches, crickets and beetles, snakes, slugs, mice, rats, rotting fruit, human garbage, dead animals and small reptiles. Because opossums eat so many pests, they have been called Nature’s Exterminators.
• Opossums have very poor eyesight and can only see about six inches in front of their noses.  They “see” with their keen sense of smell. 

Keeping Opossums Away

There are some very simple steps to keeping opossums away from your home:

• Keep pet food and water indoors, in a tightly sealed container.
• Clean your yard of rotting fruit.
• Keep a tight seal on garbage containers.
• Cover your pool in the winter and monitor that no opossum has fallen in looking for a drink.

The Dangers of Do-It-Yourself Exterminating

Many people have taken it upon themselves to try “at home” extermination remedies, but the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found there was a rise in accidental poisonings. A national report detailed 111 toxic exposures between 2003 and 2011 when dealing with bed bugs. Eighty nine of these cases were in New York. In January, The Wall Street Journal reported that bed bugs are developing enzymes to protect themselves against pesticides.“In New York City, bedbugs now are 250 times more resistant to the standard pesticide than bedbugs in Florida, due to changes in a gene controlling the resilience of the nerve cells targeted by the insecticide, researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst recently reported.” Lab tests show that bed bugs can survive 1,000 times the lethal dose of pesticides from 10 years ago.

The dangers of overdoing it in at-home extermination do not lie simply with bed bugs. There are many other pest controls that can cause toxic exposure if not handled by the professionals. Additionally, many pest’s waste will cause damage to your home and could be detrimental to you health. In June 2011, a Montauk man died from overexposure to toxic mice droppings. Hantavirus is a lung infection caused by materials found in rodent droppings, urine and saliva that are breathed in. While this recent case is very rare, avoid the risk of exposure by calling professional exterminators.

There are a few ways to avoid toxic exposure to at-home pesticides, but the safest bet is to call the professionals if you suspect an infestation.

• Don’t over apply insecticides.
• Always wash treated bedding/areas.
• Wear gloves and a mask when treating areas of suspected rodent infestation. Wash your hands thoroughly after using any “over the counter” pesticide.
• If you experience any nausea, vomiting, dizziness or respiratory irritation after applying insecticides, seek the advice of a professional.
• Call Suburban Exterminating for a free estimate if you suspect you have bed bugs. (631) or (516) 864-6900.

Call a professional to avoid all fears of do-it-yourself extermination!