How to Get Rid of Possums (2026 Guide)

An opossum under the deck is a feeding problem first and an animal problem second. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is North America’s only marsupial, a nocturnal scavenger that dens wherever it finds a ready-made hole and eats whatever it finds there. It did not dig under your shed. It moved into a space that already existed because food sat nearby. Close the kitchen and lock the bedroom, in that order, and most opossums drift off on their own feet within days. Trapping works too, since opossums are famously easy to catch, but a trap without exclusion just reserves the den for the next hungry visitor.

Is it actually an opossum?

Confirm before you act, because the night shift shares the yard. Opossums leave hand-like hind prints with a spread, opposable big toe that no raccoon or cat can match. You hear movement under the deck after dark, smell urine and droppings near the shelter, and find pet food or trash raided but the lawn itself mostly intact. Georgia wildlife biologist Michael Mengak puts it plainly: opossums are not strong diggers like armadillos, so torn-up turf points elsewhere, and a cheap game camera aimed at the scene for a few nights settles the question for good.

Daytime sightings confuse people more than anything else. An opossum found lying on its side in the grass, mouth open and teeth bared, is usually not sick or dead. Playing possum is an involuntary faint response to fear that can last minutes to hours. Leave it alone and it gets up and walks away. The same goes for the hissing porch visitor with drool on its chin. That is threat theater, not rabies, and it ends the moment the animal has an escape route.

A motionless opossum with bared teeth is usually playing dead. Give it space and it recovers on its own.

The camera-first culprit test

Score three nights of evidence before buying anything. Opossum verdict: hand-like prints, raided bowls or cans, night noise under structures, no real digging. Armadillo verdict: conical holes and torn turf across the lawn (see the armadillo guide instead). Raccoon verdict: stronger damage, pried lids, latrines on decks or roofs (see raccoon eviction). Mixed evidence defaults to the camera, because each animal answers to different tools and opossum traps never fix armadillo holes.

What makes opossums leave on their own?

Food removal, done completely. Opossums are nomadic feeders that settle where dinner is reliable, so an unreliable yard gets skipped. Feed pets indoors and pull every bowl before dusk. Lock trash with animal-proof lids and keep compost in sealed bins. Pick up fallen fruit daily, since opossums climb well enough to finish what the ground offers. Scrub the grill after each use and switch open bird feeders to spill-proof designs, because spilled seed feeds opossums as surely as pet kibble. Manufacturer guides and the Georgia extension advice agree on the order: attractants first, barriers second, traps last. (Trap brand names in this guide are examples, not endorsements; see our disclosure page.)

Shelter comes next. Opossums do not excavate; they rent. Brush piles, log stacks, rock piles and shrubs pressed against the foundation are furnished rooms. Haul debris away from the house, trim bushes back from walls, and store firewood off the ground and away from structures. Mengak specifically names brush, firewood piles and rock stacks as opossum shelter to remove. A yard with nothing to eat and nowhere to hide rarely holds an opossum for long.

Compare the options honestly before spending:

Method	What it does	Verdict
Remove pet food, trash, fruit, seed	Starves the site so nomads move on	First step, solves most cases
Steel mesh exclusion with buried skirt	Locks dens under decks and sheds	Permanent fix, do after eviction
One-way door on the last hole	Lets residents out, not back in	Best for an occupied den
Live cage trap	Removes the current animal	Works, but pointless without steps above
Mothballs, ammonia, predator urine	Smells bad to you	No registered opossum repellent exists, skip
Ultrasonic gadgets, strobe scares	Noise and light	Rated not practical for opossums, skip

Repellents deserve a firm word because stores sell plenty. The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management lists no registered repellents for opossums and calls frightening devices not practical. Mothballs are pesticides with label restrictions, illegal to scatter as wildlife repellent in many states, and a toxin risk to kids and pets. Motion sprinklers can nudge animals off a garden bed, but no scent or sound product replaces food removal and steel.

How do you seal a den for good?

Wait for the tenant to clock out. Opossums feed at night, so watch the entrance after dark or dust the opening with flour to read morning tracks. When the animal is out, trench-screen the structure with 1 by 1/2-inch galvanized hardware cloth. Nebraska Extension specifies burying the mesh at least 4 inches deep with a 12 to 18-inch skirt laid flat under the soil to defeat digging, and small mesh has the bonus of stopping rats and mice too. Cap chimneys, screen foundation vents, and repair siding gaps at the same time, since a sealed deck means nothing with an open vent two feet away.

For a den you know is occupied, fit a one-way door instead of a trap. Secure every other opening, mount a 6 by 6-inch one-way door on the last hole, and prop it so the animal can see out. The opossum exits on its nightly round and cannot return. Leave the rig a full week, confirm silence with the flour test, then seal the last gap the same afternoon. Garden beds get a different fence: 4-foot poultry wire with the top 12 to 18 inches bent outward and left floppy, which dumps climbers backward. That floppy-top design comes from California’s IPM program and beats a rigid tall fence that opossums simply climb.

Should you trap it, and what does the law say?

Trap only after food and shelter work, and only within your state’s rules. Opossums are the easiest nuisance animal to cage: Kansas State notes almost any bait draws them, with fish, fresh fruit or cat food best, in a trap at least 12 by 12 by 36 inches. California IPM gives 10 by 12 by 32 inches as the minimum and suggests eggs, jam or peanut butter on bread when neighborhood cats keep stealing fish bait. Set the trap after dark along the known travel route, shaded and on level ground so it cannot tip, staked so the animal cannot drag it. Check every morning without fail. A trapped opossum bakes fast in sun, and most states require trap checks within 24 hours.

A live cage trap by the foundation catches the current resident. Exclusion decides whether the next one moves in.

Spring changes the math. Breeding season fills pouches with young that ride their mother through summer, staying dependent for 70 to 80 days after birth. A trapped nursing mother leaves orphans, and a relocated one dumps them in strange territory. Late fall through early winter is the responsible trapping window, before breeding starts. If you must act in spring, assume young are present: watch for a swollen pouch or babies riding the back, and call a rehabilitator or licensed operator rather than driving the family across the county.

Spring litters ride on their mother’s back for weeks. Trapping season ends when babies appear.

Relocation is where homeowners get into trouble. Many states restrict moving trapped wildlife off your property. Some require a permit, written permission from the receiving landowner, or release within the same county. Others ban relocation outright because moved animals spread disease and die quickly among resident wildlife. Read your state wildlife agency’s nuisance rules before the trap door snaps, not after. When the rules confuse you, release on your own land after sealing the den, or hand the job to a licensed nuisance operator who carries the right permits.

Trap, seal or call? Decide in 60 seconds

Match your situation to one row and commit. Hesitation between methods is how dens stay occupied.

• Food out, no den found: pull attractants and watch for a week. No trap yet.
• Known den under a deck or shed: one-way door plus steel mesh. DIY.
• Stragglers after exclusion: night-set cage trap with morning checks. DIY within the law.
• Spring babies, attic animals, bites, or permit confusion: stop and call a licensed operator.

When is this strictly professional work?

An opossum inside the living space or attic ends DIY immediately. Attic animals foul insulation and chew wiring in the dark, and a cornered wild animal with 50 sharp teeth is not a catching project. The same goes for any bite or scratch: wash the wound, call your doctor, and report the exposure to animal control. Actual rabies in opossums is extraordinarily rare thanks to their 94 to 97°F body temperature, but post-exposure decisions belong to medical staff, not search results. Heavy flea loads, a den you cannot reach under a slab, protected species sharing the same burrow, or a permit question you cannot answer all point the same way.

The possum hub collects this species in one place, and the wildlife group covers the neighbors you will meet next: raccoons that den the same way, skunks under the same porches, and rats that exploit the same gaps. Compare night visitors across all pests, and open the pro finder the moment attic damage, bites, or confusing trapping laws enter the picture.

How to: How to Get Rid of Possums (2026 Guide)

Starve the site, lock the den, trap only what remains.

You'll need

• 1 by 1/2-inch galvanized hardware cloth
• locking trash cans
• sealed compost bin
• 10 by 12 by 32-inch live cage trap
• fish-flavored canned cat food or overripe fruit
• work gloves

Tools

• flashlight
• shovel
• game or trail camera

1. Confirm the culprit with a camera

   Aim a trail camera at the disturbance for two or three nights. Hand-like hind prints, raided pet food and night noise point to opossum, while torn-up turf points to armadillos or skunks that need different plans.

2. Remove every food source

   Feed pets indoors and pull bowls before dusk, lock trash lids, seal compost, pick up fallen fruit, scrub the grill and switch to spill-proof bird feeders. Most yard visitors leave within days once the buffet closes.

3. Clear shelter and block the den

   Haul off brush piles, log stacks and rock piles near the house. Trench-screen decks, sheds and crawl spaces with steel mesh buried 4 inches deep with an underground skirt, or fit a one-way door on the last hole for a week.

4. Trap only stragglers, within the law

   Set a large cage trap at night along the travel route, shaded and level, baited with fish cat food or fruit. Check it every morning. Never trap in spring baby season without a plan for pouch young. Verify your state's relocation rules before moving any animal.

Frequently asked questions

Do mothballs or ammonia keep possums away?

No. Wildlife damage specialists list no registered repellents for opossums and rate frightening devices as not practical. Scent tricks fail because a hungry opossum walks past smells toward real food. Spend the money on a locking trash can and steel mesh instead.

Can possums give people rabies?

Almost never. Any mammal can contract rabies, but the opossum's low body temperature of 94 to 97°F makes viral growth difficult, and confirmed cases are vanishingly rare. Treat any bite from any wild animal as a medical matter, and keep pets vaccinated, but do not fear a hissing opossum as rabid.

Will an opossum attack my dog or cat?

It would rather bluff than fight. Hissing, drooling and baring 50 teeth is theater to buy escape time. Real fights start when a dog corners one, so bring pets in at dusk, feed them indoors and give cornered animals a clear exit instead of chasing them.

How do I keep possums from living under my deck?

Wait until dark when the animal leaves to feed, then trench-screen the perimeter with 1 by 1/2-inch galvanized mesh buried at least 4 inches deep with a 12 to 18-inch skirt laid flat underground. Leave one opening fitted with a one-way door for a week before sealing the last gap.

Is it legal to trap a possum and drive it somewhere else?

It depends on your state, and many states restrict or ban relocation outright or require a permit plus written permission from the receiving landowner. Relocated opossums also die at high rates in unfamiliar territory. Check your state wildlife agency first, or release on your own property and hire a licensed operator when the law is unclear.

Useful links (6)

1. UGA Today: Wildlife biologist shares ways to get rid of opossums (2024)— news.uga.edu
2. UNL Extension NebGuide G1688: Controlling Raccoon and Opossum Damage— extensionpublications.unl.edu
3. UC IPM Pest Notes: Opossum— ipm.ucanr.edu
4. ICWDM: Opossum Damage Prevention and Control Methods— icwdm.org
5. KSU Extension L860: Opossums, Urban Wildlife Damage Control— bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu
6. Sacramento Zoo: Virginia Opossum— saczoo.org

Photo credits

Thank you to Mathieu Landretti, Tony Alter, Jjjerry14 and Specialjake for sharing these beautiful photographs and helping bring this guide to life.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY 2.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0