Finding a wild animal roaming around your property can be scary. Luckily, if it’s a possum, it’s harmless, but you still want to find a way to get rid of it.

In most cases, possums will leave on their own within a week. To get rid of them faster, try motion-activated sprinklers, lights, noises or a combination of the three. You could also live-trap and release it in a safe place, if feasible in your area. Chemical repellents might also help to ward off possums.

I’ve helped many people get rid of possums in my years as a pest control professional. Continue reading for a more in-depth discussion of these critters and how to keep them away permanently.

You might also be interested in reading these two related articles “How To Get Rid of Raccoons Permanently and Quickly” and “How To Get Rid Of Rattlesnakes From Your House/Yard“.

What Are Possums?

The possums in the United States of America are Virginia opossums, the only marsupial native to the country. Moreover, the name “possum” is a colloquialism that refers to Virginia opossum.

They are nocturnal marsupials, a group of mammals that give birth to undeveloped babies who need to spend the rest of their development in their mother’s pouch. After leaving the pouch, the baby possums spend another period riding on their mother’s back while they learn survival skills.

Possums are slow-moving, solitary critters. These marsupials grow to about the size of a cat with a foot-long, pinkish tail, thick grey fur covering their bodies, white faces, hairless ears and 50 teeth, more than any other native North American land mammal.

Signs Of Possum Infestation

Seeing an opossum wandering around your property is the best way to know you have an infestation. Other than a sighting, some other signs of these marsupials to look out for include:

• Damage to the exterior of your house: Possums might scratch up siding, roofing or gutters while entering or leaving their nesting site.
• Missing pet food: Cat food is a favorite of possums, but any pet food is vulnerable. If pet food disappears faster than expected, you could have an infestation.
• Scratching sounds: Possums make ripping or scratching noises building their nests. It could sound similar to a mouse or rat activity but louder.
• Bad smells: Like all animals, possums poop and pee, and it stinks.
• Scat: Speaking of possum poop, it’s smooth, about the same size as a cat’s and brown or covered in mold if it’s older. 
• Vocalizations: You might hear hissing, shrieking, lip-smacking or clicking sounds from possums.

Possums sometimes build nests under decks, in crawlspaces or in unused parts of the house like attics. Furthermore, you might want to check out these areas for signs of these critters.

Four Methods To Get Rid Of Possums

Fortunately, possums are nomadic creatures that aren’t likely to stick around in one area for too long. But if you want to get rid of possums faster, you can take steps to help them along, including:

Live-Trapping Possums

Before attempting to live-trap and relocate possums, be sure it is legal and that you have a safe place to take them. Release them at least five miles away from your house and in a place where they won’t bother other humans.

If live trapping is legal in your area, it’s one of the fastest and most certain ways to get rid of possums. The steps to trap these critters are:

• First, select a cage-style trap for medium-sized animals with two entrances.
• Next, select a site near the den or where you have seen the most activity.
• For bait, choose whatever food you have available, with the best choices being canned pet food, fish or apples. 
• Then, place the bait in the trap’s center, forcing the possum to get inside to eat it.
• Next, check the trap often, but it’s most effective at night.
• Finally, after catching the possum, release it in a safe place at least five miles away so it won’t find its way back to your house.

Traps are safe to use around children and pets. But, they must be checked often in case a pet goes inside.

Motion-Activated Sprinklers for Possums

Scare possums away from your house with squirts of water. Place the sprinklers near the possum’s nest or where you have noticed the most activity.

Possums might get used to the automatic sprinklers over time. You can prevent this by moving them daily to continue surprising the unwanted critters.

Sound To Scare Away Possums

Like with motion-activated sprinklers, you can use predator sounds or music instead. You can find devices that make noise when a possum walks by, which will scare it, and it will hopefully leave. 

If you don’t want to be bothered by the noise, ultrasonic repellents are a perfect option. They emit high-pitched sound waves that humans can’t hear. But the sound waves annoy possums and make them want to leave your property.

Additionally, including lights can further repel possums. Like with sprinklers, changing up the location of your scare devices makes them more effective.

Chemical Possum Repellents

The idea behind chemical possum repellents is that the smell will get the marsupials to leave. You might be able to find a product specifically for possums or a general repellent that works on many animals.

Chemical possum repellents might include predator urine. Smelling a predator should make the possum afraid for its safety, causing it to flee.

A drawback of chemical repellents is that they may have to be reapplied often. Especially after rain, which washes away the chemical.

How To Get Rid Of Possums Under Deck

One of the most likely places to find opossums is under your deck where they feel safe during the day while sleeping. They’re almost guaranteed to venture out at night to find food, and you can use this habit to your advantage.

First, block all access under your deck except an exit for the opossum. You can do this with lattice, chicken wire, screens, or another preferred method. It might help to dig your fencing a few inches into the earth to stop other digging animals from getting in.

Next, wait for the cover of darkness and make sure the opossum has left. Then, block off the exit, and your problem will be solved. 

Should I Kill Possums?

Opossums benefit their ecosystems in many ways and are generally harmless. Therefore, you shouldn’t kill them, and it might be illegal.

Luckily, opossum populations are healthy in the United States. While it’s understandable not to want to live too close to them, it’s best to let them live and play their critical role in the ecosystem.

What Benefits Do Possums Provide?

As omnivores, opossums are natural cleaners of their environment. Their main benefit to humans is their appetite for dangerous and annoying pests.

Opossums won’t eat your vegetable garden or ornamental plants because they prefer rotting and dead food. These marsupials provide many other benefits, including:

• Eating up to 5,000 ticks per year, which cause the dreaded Lyme.
• Hunting, killing and eating snakes, rats and mice.
• Don’t spread diseases, plus they are naturally resistant to rabies and botulism.
• Don’t dig and won’t tear up your landscaping.
• Eating insects like slugs and beetles that harm your plants.
• Eating fallen fruit that stinks or attracts annoying insects.
• Cleaning up animal carcasses.
• They live alone, meaning you’ll never be overwhelmed with swarms of them.

In the end, opossums can be cute neighbors, especially their babies, that do a lot of good. Getting rid of any prejudices against them can help you live in peace with this critical animal.

Why Are Possums Considered Pests?

We can’t always look at opossums with rose-tinted glasses. They are wild animals, after all, and almost no one wants to live too close to them.

In their search for food, they might tip over garbage cans and make a mess. Also, they can spoil food left outside and eat your pet’s dinner if they can find it.

While it is more likely that an opossum will play dead, there’s a rare chance they could attack you or your pets. All this considered, it’s best for all parties to have a comfortable separation between humans and these marsupials.

Preventing Possums From Returning

After getting rid of opossums, you need to stop them from coming back. The measures you can take to prevent these marsupials from returning to your home are:

• Use tight lids on trash cans.
• Set up tumbler-style compost bins to keep all animals out.
• Seal entrances to your crawlspace, deck, outbuildings and attic.
• Quickly clean fallen fruit from trees and bushes.
• Trim trees and hedges away from your home.
• Don’t feed pets outside.
• Prevent birdseed from falling onto the ground, or don’t feed birds.
• Control other pests, like cockroaches, that could be a food source for opossums.

Having a cat or dog, which are predators, can help keep opossums away. You can spread your pet’s hair around your property to add a scent that makes the danger apparent to the maruspials.

Other smells that opossums don’t like are chili peppers, garlic and ammonia. Spraying a solution with one of these ingredients around your home will make it less appealing to the critters.