Why Opossum Die Under Houses

Opossums, which are also recognized by their binomially nomenclature name as Didelphimorphia are among the biggest order of a group of animals called marsupials. There are one hundred and three species of this animal in the western hemisphere. These are the kind of animals that are adaptable to any environment because they have a diet that is flexible and very unique habits of reproduction. This means that they can easily survive in any environment. They are found in North America but are also regarded as a species that can invade any type of land and own it. Therefore, they have been seen in the regions of British Columbia and the south of Ontario.



The opossum in an omnivore. This means that it eats both meat and vegetables. They are usually scavengers. This means that they work hard and hunt for their food. They eat practically anything. These include mice, snakes, birds and chicken. It can also eat household items like bread and other foods that humans eat. They are not selective eaters. It if is edible, if it is available then the opossum will eat it. This is why people store their trash safely to avoid it being eaten by the opossum.

The opossum will live anywhere as long as there is a constant supply of food and water. They create shelters under people’s houses because they know that the water always passes under the house. They create habitats under houses, breed and produce offspring under people’s houses. Sometimes they die under the house. This can be due to the following reasons:

1. If it has been poisoned. People often get disturbances from opossums and decide to take evasive or preventive measures. They therefore poison the food that they know the opossum will eat. Mostly, this is the leftover food in the trash. The opossum will eat the food and go back to its hiding spot and die under there after some time when the poison starts to work.


2. The opossum might have been trapped under the house. Because of the house make-overs and the placement of traps in these spots, the opossum gets trapped in one way or another. It therefore dies because it cannot come out to eat or drink. Lethal traps usually do the trick. They harm the animals while it is trapped and is left to die there before it is found.


3. The opossum might die under your house because its life cycle has ended. You might have been living with an opossum under your house for a long time but you never knew what to to get rid of it. The opossum stays there until it dies peacefully.

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