Dealing with an opossum problem can be a real headache for homeowners. There’s only one type of opossum in North America, the Virginia opossum, but even this species is known for scavenging through trash, digging up yards and gardens, and carrying diseases through its droppings.
Opossum removal requires both getting rid of live animals and cleaning up any droppings and remains. By planning your strategy around how they behave, it’ll be easier to handle infestations.
If trying to get rid of opossums on your own becomes too challenging, I recommend Orkin, Terminix, and Aptive. These exterminators have some of the best-trained professionals that use traps, baits, and other chemically treated solutions. These solutions are often more effective than standard DIY methods.
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How To Get Rid of Opossums
Once you determine the extent of an opossum infestation, there are three fundamental techniques you can use to stop it: trapping, scaring, and repelling.
Trapping opossums is easier compared to skunks and raccoons, but it’s still important to do the job humanely. Before you start, contact your state’s wildlife department concerning local laws and licensing requirements.
When choosing a live trap, make sure it is at least 10 inches wide and 32 inches deep. This will ensure there is plenty of room to accommodate the animal.
You can bait the trap with almost anything. However, what seems to work the best in most cases is fish-flavored cat food.
Ultrasonic pest repellers use ultrasound to discourage opossums and other wildlife animals from setting down in the area. Flashing lights and audible alarms can make them more effective, and you can have several scattered throughout your yard for maximum coverage.
Motion-activated sprinkler systems are another, often overlooked wildlife deterrent. Once you install one, when an opossum tries to enter your yard, it’ll get sprayed with water and scurry off.
Opossum repellents come in a wide range of chemical formulas, including sprays and granules. While they’re widely available, their effectiveness may wear off after only a short period, and you’ll have to reapply them often.
There are a few things to avoid. For example, mothballs do not work as wildlife deterrents. They aren’t labeled for that purpose, and using them that way is illegal in many areas.
You may also have heard urban legends about spreading coffee grounds and cinnamon through your yard. There’s no scientific evidence that this does anything but make a mess. Generally speaking, it’s best to stick with what works.
How To Keep Opossums Away
You need an integrative approach to keep opossums out of your yard. Aside from trapping, scaring, and repelling, professional wildlife managers will use a few preventative tactics to make a yard less attractive to the critters.
Remove Food Sources
Opossums are omnivores and will eat anything, from fruit and nuts to frogs, rodents, and roadkill. With that in mind, it’s helpful to keep all food sources away from them. Follow these tips:
- Remove any dead animals or birds that might attract scavengers.
- Secure garbage cans with tight-fitting lids and tie them to sturdy objects to prevent tipping.
- Bring pet food bowls indoors, especially at night.
- Clean up fallen fruits and vegetables from your yard regularly.
Make Your Yard Less Attractive
Food sources are only one part of the picture to creating a hostile environment for opossums. These tips deter them from setting up shop in your yard at all:
- Trim trees and shrubs so they’re at least five feet away from your house. Opossums are climbers just like squirrels and raccoons, so this step will stop them from getting up to your roof.
- Mow your lawn regularly and trim overgrown vegetation. Overgrown plants provide shelter for both opossums and other pests.
- Remove brush piles and other potential hiding spots where opossums could nest.
- Keep firewood stacked tightly, at least 18 inches off the ground so opossums can’t nest underneath.
Block Entry Points
Opossums can create nests in various locations around your property. Close off entry points with these strategies:
- Use hardware cloth to screen openings under porches, decks, and crawl spaces.
- Bury the edges of the hardware cloth at least six inches deep to prevent digging.
- For gardens, consider installing a four-foot-high chicken wire fence with the top 18 inches bent outward to deter climbing. This setup can effectively keep both adult opossums and their young from accessing your garden.
Repel Opossums Naturally
Natural wildlife repellents offer a chemical-free way to keep unwanted animals at bay. They come in both spray and granular forms. These repellents generally feature essential oils as their active ingredients — each known for its ability to deter pests. For example, peppermint, lemongrass, eucalyptus, cedar, and lavender are common choices, that have a powerful blend that repels pests.
To use these natural repellents, sprinkle granules around known nesting sites or areas where you see animals. Additionally, apply liquid oil repellents around the perimeter of your home. This approach creates a barrier that discourages wildlife from entering your home and property.
How to Identify Opossums
Opossums are the only marsupials found in North America. They’re about the size of a house cat, and are particularly distinguished by their gray fur, white pointed face, and prehensile tail. Their feet look more like small hands, which they use for hanging onto tree branches. As exceptional climbers, they can hang upside down by their tail.
Life Cycle
Opossums typically mate in early spring, and the season can extend into the early summer months. Pregnant females carry their young for approximately 13 days.
Each litter consists of five to seven young. These young are born hairless and helpless, but still find their way into their mother’s pouch. There, they nurse for up to 14 weeks. Some will ride on the mother’s back if the pouch becomes too full.
Adult opossums generally live up to about three years.
Behavior
Opossums often play dead when a predator threatens them. Contrary to popular belief, they can’t control this response. After a few minutes, they will recover and try to escape.
Juvenile opossums lack the ability to play dead. Instead, they stop, show their teeth, and growl at the threat. Unfortunately for the young critters, this method rarely succeeds in deterring the predator.
Do Opossums Carry Diseases?
Opossums carry parasites like fleas, ticks, mites, and lice, and can transmit them to humans, dogs, and cats.
If you live in a subtropical part of the country, one rare health risk with a severe opossum infestation is murine typhus, a bacterial infection transmitted from opossums to fleas to humans. Symptoms resemble the flu in many ways, and include fever, nausea and vomiting, bodyaches, and rash. In severe cases, murine typhus can affect other bodily function. However, fatality rates are low with antibiotic treatment.
Opossums are also responsible for leptospirosis, which gets transmitted to people through water contaminated by animal urine and feces. This condition causes fever, headaches, vomiting, red eyes, and rashes. It’s not usually fatal, but if left untreated, it can lead to meningitis or kidney failure.
Common symptoms of leptospirosis are:
- Headache
- Fever
- Vomiting
- Red Eyes
- Rash
If left untreated, the disease can cause meningitis or kidney failure. Still, only a few deaths have been reported in the US.
Signs and Causes of an Opossum Infestation
Opossums will nest anywhere where there’s plentiful food and water. Since they’re not typically afraid of humans, they may even try to come through dog doors to see what there is to eat.
The easiest way to tell if you have an infestation is to check for nesting sites. Opossums can use any of these areas for nests:
- Dens
- Brush piles
- Wood piles
- Space under decks and porches
- Stairwells
- Crawl spaces
Opossums often make their nests by collecting and arranging available materials in a makeshift way. You might find them using sticks, leaves, pillow stuffing, or torn cloth for building. They may stay in the nest for a week to a month, depending on how suitable your yard is for their survival.
Other signs to look out for include these:
- Unusual hissing or scratching sounds at night
- Large, cat-like footprints with visible clawmarks, perhaps going to and from food sources
- Dropping resembling those of a small dog, often with visible seeds or fur
- Overturned trash cans or scattered garbage
- Damage to garden plants and low-hanging fruit
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Frequently Asked Questions
There are several ways to get rid of opossums. These include trapping, scaring them away, and repelling them with different methods.
Opossums are naturally transient and will typically vacate an area on their own within a few weeks.
You may have an opossum problem if you find big, pointed droppings with a yellow or white mold, as well as signs of scratching and paw tracks around your house. Additionally, loud noises at night, such as shrieking or growling, and disappearing pet food can indicate their presence.
