﻿ Opossum Photograph 021 - Opossums have the most teeth of any mammal - a total of 50.

Opossums have the most teeth of any land mammal.

Customer Opossum Email: I was wondering if you could take a look at the attached pictures and help me identify what type of animal is getting into my garage and leaving scat everywhere. It appears at a variety of times, day after day. we clean up the scat...nothing for a few days, then we find it again all over the garage. We have no obvious holes and the garage door is kept closed 95% of the time. We live in one of those "treeless subdivisions" where they clear cut everything before building - so I don't know if it's a raccoon or possum, plus I don't see how they could leave scat in such small places, as illustrated by the attached photos. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The first few photos show scat that was left under a trash dumpster with maybe 1 foot clearance. The other is in a tight space under my workbench. Thanks for your help. Jerry

My Answer: That's baby opossum poop! They are very common this time of year, having just dropped off mama possums. You need to seal the entry points leading into your garage.

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Click to go back to my full opossum removal photo gallery. Visit my opossum removal journal blog! Lots of great opossum stories!

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.
