It's a Bull-Pucky study by the Cary Institute that extrapolates how many ticks could potentially be consumed by grooming. Possums did a better job than the other test subjects of grooming away the ticks that were placed on them.

"(b) Reinfesting hosts
After the 72 h pre-test period, each host was inoculated with
100 larval ticks that had been either collected in the field or
hatched from eggs in the laboratory. Larvae hatched
from eggs in the laboratory were the offspring of locally
collected adult ticks fed on rabbits. Mice and birds were
restrained by hand during inoculation; all other hosts
were restrained in nylon mesh-handling cones. Inoculations
were conducted by placing the 100 ticks, which had been
pre-counted and placed in plastic vials, on the host’s neck
and head with a number 00 paintbrush" - https://www.caryinstitute.org/sites/default/files/public/reprints/Keesing_2009_ProcB.pdf

This is the source of the pro possum movement that ignores the fact that possums carry other diseases like EPM disease. A neurological disease that can cause paralysis and death in horses.

Possum lives matter = PLM

Are you kidding???? And down south they eat possum!!!
I would rather skin a skunk than a possum. They smell like rank, raunchy, putrid garbage!

it gets worse.... PROPER OPOSSUM MASSAGE

Let us know if they ever figure out just what that Green Gunk inside them is???

still haven't found out who wants them Nancy Pelosi maybe

Possums carry EPM that will kill horses they always leave that out of the tick guzzling posts!

years back when the bovine tb hit Mi. I did some searching as to what other countries did and New Zealand waged an all out war on possums they claimed there was nothing worse for spreading disease

I, for one, do not buy that they are tick eating machines.

Isnt there an overpopulation of horses destroying habitat in the west?

Yes but they should be getting sent to Canada as I am sure you guys could find some use for them...