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Here's one climbing in an attic. |
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Customer Opossum Email: David, I just bought a home in North Dallas and I have come to believe that the attic was occupied by opossums or some other attic dweller.
I recently had new insulation blown in throughout my attic not knowing the extent of the problem in my attic from the feces and urine. My home smells awful and I keep the
guest bathroom door shut just to contain the odor emanating from there…it seems to be where the smell is the strongest. I purchased a blacklight last night just to see
if the ceiling had spots and sure enough you can see them. I guess my questions are…if it was opossums, will there be more than one latrine area up there if I go searching
through the new insulation? I’ve read about removing the affected areas but will that be enough? Do I also need to replace the sheetrock? And most importantly, I’m
just worried about my own health just breathing the air in my own home…its pretty rank. Thanks, Sharon
My Answer: If the smell is that bad, perhaps there's a dead animal up there. Opossums die in attics all the time. Also, they don't keep latrines - they just poop and
pee at random, all through the attic. You don't need to replace the sheetrock. A good cleaning will do. I have a great guy in Dallas who can help you, just click on Texas in my directory.
If you need wildlife control services in your hometown, click for the National Directory of Wildlife Trappers that I've carefully compiled in every US city.
The opossum, also commonly called the possum, is actually named the Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), and it is the only marsupial native to North America. Possums have several unique traits. Most people know that they
sometimes "play possum" which is a form of playing dead, and they also know that opossums can hang from their tails. But possums are unique in many other ways - they have a low body temperature that prevents many viruses and
diseases from affecting them, that tail is prehensile (they can grip things with it) they have opposable thumbs, and they have 50 teeth, the most of any land mammal. They are very opportunistic and good climbers, which causes them to
commonly break into decks, sheds, and attics, where they cause considerable damage, leave a lot of droppings, and they often die and stink in these areas. Thus, opossums
are considered pest animals by many people, which is why I remove them. If you want to learn more, please read my How To Get Rid of Opossums page.
AAAnimal Control is a privately owned wildlife removal and pest control business, located in Orlando Florida. I deal strictly with wild animals. I am not an extermination company, but a critter removal
and control specialist. The above photos are some of the many that I've taken in the field over my years of work. Please email me if
you have any questions about the above photographs, or any questions about
wildlife problems or opossum control issues.
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