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Opossum feces can transmit leptospirosis, which is a bacterial disease with early symptoms that often mimic the flu. If you do find opossum droppings, take care when handling. Though scat can sometimes be found near garden beds, opossums prefer to leave droppings in more protected areas, like under brush. They have an average size and shape because of the omnivorous nature of opossums. Opossum droppings are not as easily identified as their footprints. Since opossums are nocturnal, you want to give them time to emerge around dusk and check for tracks afterwards. Leave it alone for a little bit and examine shortly after dark. If you think you have opossums living under your house or deck, you can sprinkle a layer of flour near the area just before dark. They spread their toes out when they walk, making tracks that look like little hand prints. Opossum footprints closely resemble that of a human child, with odd separation between the thumb and forefinger. They are flexible about their habitats and can adapt to urban environments as easily as forests and swamps. The North American opossum ranges from Canada all the way South as far as Nicaragua and Honduras. If you’re worried about fleas, which can be a problem with opossums, consider starting flea prevention. It’s likely keeping tick and other pest populations under control in your area. If you find one living under your house, consider leaving it alone. They build their nests using sticks, and whatever else they can find, which they loosely pile together in an untidy fashion. Opossums will den in tree hollows or abandoned dens as well as under decks and porches. They have 50, small, sharp teeth in their mouths - more than any other land mammal in North America. Their fur is gray or white in color and they have white faces with round, black eyes. They also have prehensile thumbs called hallux on their hands and feet which also aid in climbing. They have pointed snouts and nearly hairless, prehensile tails that they use for climbing. The Virginia opossum, also called the North American or common opossum, grows to be about the size of a large cat.
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Their footprints resemble a child’s hand prints and their droppings, while of average shape and size, can sometimes be found near garden beds. Most opossums build their nests using sticks and whatever else is available - their nests appear untidy rather than woven or stacked. You might actually want them hanging around, but if you’re curious, you can identify opossums by their nests, footprints, and droppings. Opossums are beneficial and will also eat garden snails and slugs as well as cockroaches, rodents, snakes, and dead animals. Though they’ve gotten a bad reputation among people, they are actually one of nature’s best vacuum cleaners - killing up to 5,000 ticks per season, including those that spread Lyme disease. Possums are actually a species of marsupial native to Australia, New Zealand, and China. Opossums, sometimes inaccurately called possums, are North America’s only native marsupial.