Tips to Keep Opossums Away from Attic – Humane Wildlife Removal

Tips to Keep Opossums Away from Your Property

Opossums are quite unmistakable; thanks to their snow-white face, brown/black bodies, and long hairless pink tails. They’re also the only marsupial in North America and they are relatively common throughout the United States. Here are some tips to keep opossums away from your attic.

However, they are considered pests because they will go through any length just to score their next meal. Once an opossum learns that there’s always food on a property, they keep coming back for more. They will tip the trash can over just to get their fair share of pizza! They’ll make a meal of the fruits and vegetables in your garden before you get a chance to. They’ll devour pet food or bird feeders with gusto.

But they won’t stop at just eating. Opossums will chew through wood and drywall just to get access into your house and reside in walls, garages, sheds, attics and so on. Then they’ll further gnaw on wood, insulation, and electrical wiring. Their droppings also pose health risks. And if they die in your house, that’s also a major biohazard.

You can prevent all this from happening by keeping opossums away from your property. Here are some tips on how to accomplish that.

Eliminating Attractants

Opossums invade a property when there’s an abundance of food or cozy shelter. Therefore, eliminating attractants is the first step towards keeping them away. Some suggestions on how to achieve that include:

Ensure that your trash can is properly secured.
Do not leave pet food outside, especially overnight.
Take proper care of your garden. Remove all fallen and low-hanging fruits. If possible, install a fence around your garden.
Cover your bird water containers in such a way that only birds can gain access.

5. Also, ensure that you remove any spilled birdseed from your bird feeder lying around on your property.
6. Remove trash pile, debris pile, and wood stacks as they can provide temporary shelter to opossums.
7. Deny them access to spaces underneath decks, sheds, or porches.
8. Ensure that you close your garage and wood shelter to prevent entry.

These preventive measures will help keep these nuisance pests at bay.

Repellents

The bad odour of home remedies like ammonia and mothballs are known to keep opossums away. Other odours like pepper also drive them away. The same is true of predator scent, like applying coyote urine around your property.

However, the problem with these opossum’s repellents is that opossums are intelligent and quickly become accustomed to them. That’s why motion-activated systems, like sprinkler systems or motion-activated lights, are preferred.

Deterrents

A good, albeit expensive, way of deterring opossums is through fencing. Just ensure that the fence is at least 4 feet high and 12 inches into the soil. For added effectiveness, you can install an electric fence.

Animals like dogs can also be used to keep opossums away from your property.

Trapping

Some opossums are persistent and will keep returning irrespective of what you do. In such cases, your best bet might be to trap them. You can either make use of a live trap or an exclusion funnel trap. Appropriate baits to use include canned cat food, fish, and fruits like apples. Before trapping and relocating opossums, make sure you check with your local wildlife district on the legalities surrounding opossum removal.