But just how do opossums prevent Lyme disease? Does simply easting the bugs take care of the matter or is there more to it?

Opossums ‘Hoover Up’ Ticks as They Wander the Forest

Opossums are often compared to vacuum cleaners, in part because of their indiscriminate diet. They’ll eat virtually anything they can find, from grass and nuts to garbage, insects, mice and snakes.

However, the vacuum comparison has also been used to describe opossums’ voracious “appetite” for ticks.

“[M]any ticks try to feed on opossums and few of them survive the experience. Opossums are extraordinarily good groomers it turns out — we never would have thought that ahead of time — but they kill the vast majority — more than 95 [percent] percent of the ticks that try to feed on them. So these opossums are walking around the forest floor, hoovering up ticks right and left, killing over 90 [percent] of these things, and so they are really protecting our health.”

As for why opossums consume so many more ticks than other animals, Bard College professor of biology Felicia Keesing, Ph.D., suggested in an interview with VPR (Vermont’s NPR news source) that they may be more sensitive to the feeling of ticks on their bodies, allowing them to notice when they attach and easily pinpoint their locations for quick removal.

I have had the honor of caring for two educational opossums (that were unable to be released in the wild), and they are the most sensitive creatures I have ever encountered. They can detect when they have foreign hairs stuck on them (like dog hair) as well as other tiny fibers (like cobwebs) that most creatures would not be sensitive enough to detect. I think this profound skin sensitivity contributes to their ability to detect ticks on their own bodies.

So, possums do not just “hoover-up” ticks but they can really decimate a population if they set their minds to it! That is really rather nice to know. Maybe the next time you see your poor pooch chewing on his fur, attempting all in vain to get that tick or flea that has decided to make him a meal, you will think about the impressive Opossum.

To learn more go to Healthy Pets. Hey. we are not saying to should adopt a possum and put it in your backyard – but it couldn’t hurt! LOL!