Opossums are great for helping to curb the tick population. And, they don’t eat them just off of the ground. In October 2019, Greg Swann of Vermont caught a photo of an opossum eating ticks directly off of a deer’s face.
Nature’s little tick-vacuums can eat up to 5,000 ticks every 2-3 months and are resistant to rabies due to their low body temperatures. While we cannot go out and buy them, we can protect those that share the land where we live. Don’t shoo them away or kill them. Avoid hitting them on the road (like all animals). In the cold months, understand that they might just be under your porch or in your garage trying to stay warm.
You can read more about them here.
