Forest rats.
Actually, they are not. When I was growing up in the 1970s we used to go coon hunting. We never asked for permission to cross into other people's property, because raccoons were property destructive and the famers wanted them gone. However possums were left alone. The only crime that they were accused of was eating chicken eggs and not very often.
Several years ago, I read that one of the main food sources for possums are ticks. They eat an unbelievable amount of them. Where I live, we have a serious problem with tick diseases. I have a possum that regularly patrols my backyard. Since they only live 1 to 2 years, I am guessing that my property is a part of a possum's family territory that gets handed down to the next generation. I have lived in my house for almost 20 years and is covered with a lot of trees and undergrowth. I have never seen a tick within my fence line.