Opossum Removal Services in Toronto

Opossums

Opossums are frequently found in sheds and under decks and porches in the Toronto area. Like skunks, squirrels and raccoons they might use small holes to enter your home or business. While relatively harmless, removing an opossum should be left to a trained professional. Call ICE—our wildlife technicians are highly experienced with safe and effective opossum removal. First, we locate the animal’s entry point as well as assess the damage caused to your property. Then we utilize our One-Way Door System to humanely remove the nuisance animal. It’s a simple mechanism designed specifically to allow opossums to vacate your property unharmed. It works by allowing the opossum entry outside and preventing re-entry. Each removal is performed on a case-by-case approach to ensure you receive the best service possible.

Opossum Facts

Opossums are opportunistic omnivores with a very broad diet. Their unspecialized biology, flexible diet and reproductive strategy make them successful colonizers and survivors in unsettled times. The opossum are a small to medium-sized marsupial, about the size of a large house cat (2-3′ long and 4-15 lbs.). Most members of the opossum family have long snouts and narrow braincases. They can be traced back to the time of the dinosaur.

When threatened or harmed, they will “play possum”, mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal. The lips are drawn back, teeth are bared, saliva foams around the mouth and a foul-smelling fluid is secreted from the anal glands. This physiological response is completely involuntary, rather than a conscious act.

Their stiff, curled form can be prodded, turned over, and even carried away. Many injured opossums have been killed by well-meaning people who find a catatonic animal and assume the worst. The best thing to do upon finding an injured or apparently dead opossum is to leave it in a quiet place with a clear exit path. In minutes or hours, the animal will regain consciousness and escape quietly on its own.

Reproduction

The opossum has a 12 day gestational period and gives birth to anywhere from 5 to 25 young. They are about the size of a bee and crawl the two inches from the birth canal to the mother’s pouch.