Their meandering, opportunistic nature tends to bring them into and around houses quite often. Fortunately, there are several simple but effective ways you can deter them from your property. If you can make your home less accessible to opossums, they’ll simply find somewhere else to live. That’s why the wildlife experts at Varment Guard have put together 6 ways to keep possums away from your space.
6 Ways to Prevent Opossums
Opossums aren’t picky about where they live. However, they prefer to be near water and food sources. Considering this, here’s how to keep them away from your home:
1.) Cover Your Trash
Opossums love trash; there’s plenty of it, it’s easy to find, and they don’t have to work very hard to get it. Make your trash scarce, hard to find, and even harder to get in. Here’s how:
- Don’t let your trash in your dumpster or in your cans pile up.
- Store all trash in sealed plastic bags.
- Rinse out pungent materials before disposing of them.
- Tie your garbage bin closed with bungee cords to keep opossums (and other wildlife pests) out.
2.) Block Off Your Deck
Opossums are perfectly happy burrowing under your deck. They may even move into a pre-existing burrow you didn’t know about.
To keep opossums from making your house their home, Varment Guard blocks off any openings beneath your deck or porch with mesh wiring. We dig the mesh wiring several inches underground to prevent opossums from digging under it. If there are pre-existing burrows under your deck, we make sure they’re empty, then fill them in.
📞Call 800-793-8169 to get rid of unwanted wildlife visitors quickly!
3.) Secure Your Garage
Opossums love to sneak into garages where they can get into bird seed or pet food. Follow these steps to make sure they don’t have an easy access:
- Keep your garage door shut whenever possible.
- Ensure the door, opener, and rubber sealing aren’t damaged or compromised.
- Then, take away their reason for entering your garage in the first place. Keep bird seed, pet food, and other possible food sources in sealed, airtight containers. If they can’t smell it, they won’t know it’s there.
4.) Repair Damage
Opossums tend to access properties by digging under or squeezing through existing damage. They’ll find their way under a hole in a fence or wiggle through a gap in your garden mesh.
- Walk the perimeter of your fences, looking for damage—patch up and repair damage as you find it. Keep in mind that opossums are climbers, so you’ll have to look up and down for possible entry points.
- Consider installing subterranean mesh around your garden to prevent opossums.
- Install screens over your vents and chimneys. Check periodically to make sure they aren’t damaged. Remember, you don’t have to go it alone, Varment Guard can help with the installation and repair of chimney and vent screens.
5.) Trim Branches & Bushes
Opossums are famously (or infamously) capable climbers. They’ll even use high branches as bridges to other, more secure nesting locations (like your roof). Cut branches and bushes away from the sides of your home. Make sure nothing touches or overlaps with your roof.
6.) Keep Your Yard Tidy
Opossums are attracted to yards that offer them food, shelter, and cover. They’ll eat their way across your yard from hiding place to hiding place until they reach the home itself. Remove any possible opossum food or shelter:
- Pick up fallen fruits, berries, leaves, twigs, or birdseed.
- Remove trash and other debris the wind blows in.
- Don’t leave piles of leaves or firewood sitting out.
How to Get Rid of Opossums: Give Varment Guard a Call
If you’ve followed the tips above and you’re still dealing with an opossum problem, it may be time to call in the experts. Opossums can be aggressive, so removing them yourself is NOT advised. Varment Guard provides live opossum trapping and opossum exclusion to make sure your property is free of unwanted visitors. Get in touch with the wildlife control experts at Varment Guard today.
