They are gentle and non-aggressive animals who will not attack anyone. No need to do anything, as opossums are nomadic and will leave on their own very soon. If the opossum is truly stuck in a fence, contact your local animal services agency for help. Make sure the opossum is really stuck! If a dog has run him up a tree or onto a fence, he won't move until the threat is long gone. Watch for exiting footprints and close the door once the animal is gone. Then open the garage door before dusk and sprinkle an 8-inch band of white flour under it. First, remove access to food (for example, bird seed bags) and trash. Opossums may wander into garages when doors are left open. Trapping won't work to solve the problem because as long as there's a food source, wild animals will keep coming to it. Secure trash lids with bungee cords, get an Animal Stopper brand garbage can (which has built-in bungee cords), put the garbage out the morning of trash pickup, or get an outdoor storage enclosure for trash cans from a home building store. Like most wildlife, opossums will take advantage of open or spilled garbage containers, so the solution is better containment. Call your local animal control agency. If their body length is longer than 7 inches (not including tail), then they're big enough to survive on their own. If the baby opossums are less than 7 inches long (not including the tail), they are too young to be on their own. At this age, they ride on mom's back and can sometimes fall off without her noticing. Baby Opossumīaby opossums stay in their mother's pouch until they are 3 months old and the size of a mouse. Leave the opossum alone and/or bring in your dog for a little while, and the opossum will leave once they realize the threat is gone. If an opossum is hissing, drooling, swaying and/or opening his mouth really wide (so you can see his 50 teeth!), he's just doing a bluff routine to scare you (or a dog) off! What you're seeing is normal defensive behavior. Surprisingly, opossums rarely, if ever, get rabies. They are not looking to attack or bother anyone they are actually very gentle and harmless creatures. Opossums are normally seen at dawn and dusk, but can be seen anytime. This is normal behavior, not cause for alarm. They provide free pest control by eating everything people don't like, such as all types of bugs, small snakes, mice and even baby rats. Unfortunately, this bluff routine is often wrongly perceived to be rabies. Their swaying, drooling and hissing routine is a bluff, and if that bizarre behavior doesn't work to scare you, they fall over and play dead. They don't run fast or fight well, so their best defense is to try scaring off potential attackers. They actually have little ability to defend themselves. Opossums are shy, non-aggressive creatures who have the misfortune of scaring people due to their rather odd appearance. Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response
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