You may never have seen one yourself, but you have certainly heard of it. As the only marsupial native to North America, the opossum is certainly an intriguing creature. It is outwardly hideous and can play dead for a quite a long time when it feels threatened. Add to that the fact that it is immune to venoms, and you get a pretty cool animal.
However, at its core, it is just another animal which eats, defecates, rests, and eventually breathes its last. Of course, if opossums reside in your vicinity, they might end up dead somewhere in your house.
Why would you want to remove a dead opossum?
A dead opossum near or in your house is never a pleasant experience, mostly because of the horrendous smell that it gives off. Additionally, there is always the threat of the propagation of diseases. In any case, the very sight of a dead opossum is not exactly the greatest thing for your children to stumble upon, so you are better off removing it.
Finding a dead opossum
Since the dead marsupial emits a foul smell, that should be the best indicator of its location within your house. You will need to check every nook and cranny, especially ventilation ducts and attics as opossums are prone to ending up here.
What about hard to reach places?
An opossum doesn't exactly plan the location of its death so that it can end up dead anywhere in your house. Now that's a problem because there are some very tight spaces or areas that may contain the dead creature but are very difficult to access.
If this is the case, you may need to open vents or even cut through the drywall in order to reach the corpse. Instruments such as grabbers can be used for shifting the dead animal to a more accessible position. It is important to wear protective clothing and breathing masks if you plan to reach the creature in a confined space.
Get a bag
The dead opossum may have attracted fleas and ticks, so you would be wise to don your gloves and proceed to shove the carcass in a plastic bag. Tie it up securely and place it another plastic bag for extra measure. If you aren't disposing of it right away, you should place it in a closed box to prevent the smell from spreading throughout the house.
Removing the dead opossum
To dispose of the dead opossum for good, you may throw away the plastic bag in the garbage, or incinerate it. Burying it is not advisable, as that might attract other animals and the smell may linger, so it isn't worth it.
Go back to the Tulare wildlife removal home page.