The North American Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is a common nocturnal visitor across the continent. These unique marsupials, often called possums, have successfully adapted to a wide range of environments, including suburban and urban areas. This adaptability stems from their highly flexible eating habits. As an omnivore, the possum consumes both plant and animal matter, allowing it to find and consume nearly any available food source. Understanding this generalized diet helps determine what attracts them to human-provided food, such as the seeds found in backyard bird feeders.
The Opossum Diet: Nature’s Opportunist
The opossum’s natural diet is incredibly varied, reflecting its role as a generalist scavenger and forager. Their meals typically consist of insects, snails, worms, and other invertebrates found while rooting on the ground. They also consume small vertebrates, such as rodents, birds, and eggs, when the opportunity arises.
Plant matter forms a significant portion of their foraging, including wild fruits, berries, and grains during warmer months. They readily capitalize on easily accessible sources, such as carrion, functioning as nature’s cleanup crew. This flexible approach extends to human environments, where they are often drawn to unsecured garbage, compost piles, and outdoor pet food.
Studies analyzing the stomach contents of wild opossums show a diet composed of varying percentages of mammal tissues, fruits, seeds, bulbs, and insects, depending on the season and location. This tendency to eat whatever is available makes them frequent guests in backyards. Their nocturnal habits, relying on a keen sense of smell, mean they are most active when bird feeders are unattended.
The Verdict on Sunflower Seeds
The direct answer to whether opossums eat sunflower seeds from bird feeders is a definitive yes. Opossums are strongly attracted to bird feeders, particularly those containing sunflower seeds, because the seeds provide a dense source of calories. Black oil sunflower seeds, a common type of bird feed, are especially high in fat, offering a substantial energy boost.
While the seeds offer fat and some protein, consuming them in large quantities presents a nutritional trade-off. Sunflower seeds have an inverted calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, containing significantly more phosphorus than calcium. For a mammal, a diet heavily based on seeds can lead to a severe mineral imbalance.
When phosphorus levels are too high relative to calcium, the body must pull calcium from its bones to balance its internal chemistry. If prolonged, this condition can result in Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), causing brittle bones and fragility. Although opossums consume the seeds for immediate energy, a diet dominated by birdseed is not nutritionally complete for their long-term health.
Deterring Opossums from Backyard Food Sources
Managing opossums relies primarily on eliminating the food sources that initially attract them. Pet food left outside overnight is a powerful attractant and should be brought indoors before dusk. All garbage cans must also have tightly secured, animal-proof lids to prevent access to discarded food waste.
For bird feeders, action should be taken to prevent spillage and access. Cleaning up any fallen seeds immediately removes the most accessible food source for ground-level foragers. Feeders can also be mounted on poles equipped with a metal or plastic baffle, a wide, slick barrier placed below the feeder to prevent climbing.
These baffles should be placed at least five feet off the ground and away from nearby structures or tree limbs that an opossum could use to bypass the barrier. Another simple method involves temporarily removing the bird feeder entirely for several weeks, forcing nocturnal visitors to seek food elsewhere. Homeowners may also use commercial or homemade scent deterrents, such as sprinkling cayenne pepper or applying peppermint oil around the base of the feeder pole.