one of the WOAT animals
They are actually pretty amazing
Opossums are beneficial because they act as natural pest and waste control by eating ticks, rodents, insects, and even venomous snakes, and they help with garden cleanup by eating snails, slugs, and fallen fruit. They are also resistant to venom and have a low risk of rabies, and they contribute to ecosystem health by cleaning up carrion.
Pest and waste control
- Ticks: Opossums are voracious tick eaters, consuming up to 95% of ticks that try to latch onto them and potentially killing thousands in a season. This helps reduce the spread of diseases like Lyme disease.
- Rodents and insects: They help control populations of rodents like rats and mice, as well as insects like cockroaches, crickets, and beetles.
- Carrion: They act as nature's cleanup crew by eating carrion (dead animals), which can prevent the spread of disease.
Garden and yard benefits
- Garden pests: Opossums eat garden pests such as snails and slugs.
- Fallen fruit: They also clean up fallen, overripe fruit that has dropped from trees.
Other benefits
- Venom resistance: Virginia opossums have a natural resistance to many venoms, including those from snakes like copperheads and rattlesnakes.
- Low rabies risk: They have a very low risk of contracting rabies, and their primary defense mechanism is to "play possum" (pretend to be dead) to avoid confrontation.
- Ecosystem support: As North America's only marsupial, they play a unique and valuable role in maintaining ecological balance.