A possums favorite food is persimmons, apples and other fruits and berries.
Possums also love nuts and seeds although they don't like them as much as the other foods.
Possums are not aggressive animals unless they feel threatened or are provoked.
Possums are generally non aggressive and friendly creatures when around people and they rarely harm people.
Still possums can be aggressive when they feel the need to defend themselves.
You can befriend a possum by feeding it some food or treats.
The possum will eventually begin to trust you as you feed the possum some foods and treats such as hot dogs, vegetables etc.
Allow the possum time to get used to you and then eventually you may be able to pet the possum or even get closer to it.
You can touch a wild possum although you should not touch or handle a wild possum with your bare hands as they can scratch and bite you and may transfer diseases to you.
It's best to leave wild possums alone but if you do try to handle or touch a wild possum be sure to wear really thick gloves.
If you have a possum in your yard then you can simply leave it alone and it will leave you alone as well or if you wan to get rid of the possum you can do that and use things to repel the possum.
Things that scare possums away are large dogs, bright lights, motion lights, motion activated sprinklers.
You can also repel possums by using pet fur, ammonia, wolf urine, molasses, hot peppers, garlic, onion and camphor as possums hate the scents of these things and will stay away.
Possums growl at night when they feel threatened or if they are injured.
If you hear a possum growl at night the most common reason is the possum is feeling threatened by another animal.
Animals that eat possums are great horned owls, large hawks, foxes, bobcats, coyotes and dogs.
Possums are not really bad to have around as possums eat mice, rats and other pests so possums can be beneficial to have around and they are mostly harmless to humans.
Possums are pretty friendly and harmless to humans and unless provoked or bothered the possum will most often leave humans alone.
In fact possums are more afraid of humans than we are of them.
If a possum scratches you there could be bacteria in the wound from the possum scratch and you could develop a wound ulcer.
If you get scratched by a possum you should immediately wash the scratch and pour use some hydrogen peroxide on the scratch to kill any bacteria.
If you feel any sickness after the possum scratch you should seek medical attention but in most cases you should be fine.
Possums don't always have rabies although they can be infected with rabies in rare cases.
The good news is though that most possums are rabies free.
Possums are scared of humans and actually possums are much more afraid of humans than humans are afraid of them.
Possums rarely attack and most often possums will play dead when they come up against a human and possums are mostly harmless if left alone.
The noises and sounds that possums make include grunting, growling, hissing, screeching, clicking and teeth-chattering calls.
A male brushtail possum will also make a loud throaty call to warn other males that are found within its home range (listen to the recording available on the species profile on this website).
Possums do keep rats away as well as mice as possums will eat mice as well as rats.
Things that possums eat are insects, slugs, worms, snakes, frogs, bird eggs, mice, rats, small poultry and dead animals and possums also eat fruits, nuts, and grains.
Possums do eat dog food as well as cat food and even table scraps.
If you have cat food or dog food laying around it can attract possums.
The size of hole that a possum can fit through is at least 3 inches in diameter.
Holes smaller than 3 inches in diameter make it impossible for possums to fit through but any hole bigger than 3 inches in diameter a possum can fit through.
Possums are not rodents although they do resemble rodents but instead possums are marsupials.
The brushtail possum is a pest in New Zealand although it's also protected by law which makes it illegal to capture or kill the brushtail possum in Australia.
Possums are a pest in Australia as well as other countries although possums are protected by law in Australia which means it's illegal to kill or capture a possum in Australia and you can get a huge fine if you do kill a possum or capture a possum in Australia.
The difference between a possum and an opossum is in the tail.
A possum has a furry tail, while an opossum has a bare tail.
Possums most often stay in one place for 2 nights and then after those 2 nights the possums typically find another place to stay for another 2 days and then move on again.
Lights will keep possums away as possums hate lights.
You can install motion activated lights which will scare the possums away when they trigger the motion activated light and the light comes on.
The lights make possums uncomfortable and will scare the possums away.
'Possums do sleep in the same place every night for at least a few days and then the possum will most often move on to another place to sleep.
Possums sleep in nests in hollow trees or dens inside caves, attics, and abandoned buildings on the ground.
Possums also don't like the light, so they usually find places that are well covered during the day to sleep.
A group of possums are called a passel.
Some possum families can be found in burrows together although possums are most often solitary animals.
Possoms and Opossums do carry diseases and can give diseases to humans through biting if they bite the human.
Some of the diseases that Possums and Opossums can give to humans as well as pets include leptospirosis, tuberculosis, coccidiosis, spotted fever, tularemia, and other diseases, the pesky creatures pose serious health threats when they invade urban environments.
Most possums are active during the night although it's not uncommon to see possums out at night sometimes especially during winter months.
Opossums are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia endemic to the Americas.
The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 120+ species in 19 genera.
Possums are not aggressive: their open-mouth, defensive hissing is merely a bluff to look vicious.
And if that doesn't work they play dead when really scared! If there is an opossum in the backyard, don't worry.
They aren't a threat, and more than likely they will be moving on in a short while.
Just like any scared animal, it's possible for opossums to bite in defense.
If they feel cornered or threatened, opossums will use several escape strategies ranging from playing dead to hissing.
Biting is rare, but people should avoid contact with all wild animals to eliminate the risk.
The possum has a furry tail, while the opossum has a bare tail.
One key difference between the possum and the opossum is their tails.
A possum's tail is thick and furry, much like that of a squirrel.
The name of one of the most widespread possum species–the common brushtail possum–highlights this feature.
Possums are usually seen coming out during the night since they sleep during the day and forage during the night.
But some possums do come out during the day when the weather is cold or when the possums run out of food or have been disturbed from sleeping.
It's not unusual to see a possum during the day although they mostly roam around during the night.
Possums do not eat cats nor do the possums prey on cats.
However a possum may attack the cat and kill the cat if they are cornered by the cat or feel threatened by the cat.
Possums mostly eat things such as fruits, nuts, green plants, insects, snails, snakes, frogs, birds, and their eggs, as well as small mammals such as meadow voles, mice, and rats.