This is one of the most overexaggerated facts out there!  Opossums eat insects.  Opossums are meticulous groomers (like cats.)  When grooming, if they find ticks it’s like a special treat.  The long silky fur of an opossum walking thru tall grass attracts ticks – we call them “tick magnets”. Yes, they eat ticks.  They do not hunt them, they do not chase them, they do not dig them up; and there no tick “nests”.  If we find an opossum loaded with ticks, we know there is probably a health problem.