A study done in Millbrook claims that opossums could be the key to diminishing the deer tick population. This time of the year we usually see turtles crossing the road and people go out of their way to help our slow reptilian friend get across. Maybe we should be helping our marsupial mates too.

We often see dead possums on the side of the road (or maybe they're just playing dead) and I don't think people care as much because they mistake them as vermin. Contrary to what most people believe, Opossums are not actually rodents. Oddly enough, they're marsupials kind of like kangaroos.

Recently, there's been a meme floating around on social media stating that an opossums can eat up to 5,000 ticks in a single season. Is this true?

According to Snopes, it is true to some degree.

A study done right here in the Hudson Valley, the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook determined that an opossum grooms itself vigorously like a cat and eats thousands of ticks from their body in one season.

Could opossums help control the deer tick population.

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