GET RID OF OPOSSUMS ONCE AND FOR ALL

How to Get Rid Of Opossums in Your Attic

While you can find opossums literally anywhere around your property (in the shed, under the porch, in the yard, and even in the trash can), by far the scariest encounter is when they’re right inside your home. And a big favorite for possums, as for other wild animals, is the attic.

Why? Because most people tend to use the attic more as a storage space, first of all, means it’s cluttered, and thus offers plenty of hiding spaces. The second reason why opossums love attics is that they’re not much inhabited, which means there aren’t many risks of them being discovered.

So what can you do if you’ve discovered an opossum in your attic?

• Find and seal the entry point.

Yes, you need to do this before you get rid of the opossum itself, otherwise, you’re just inviting more critters to join him. So first inspect the roof and walls of your attic, and find the crack, loose board, or vent problem that allowed the opossum indoors in the first place.

Next, you will want to replace or seal it, so as to keep other critters out. When sealing a crack or hole in the wall, we recommend using material like wire mesh, cement, or expanse foam, to make sure other creatures don’t discover it and attempt to claw or gnaw their way through.

• Trap it.

If you’ve got a live opossum in your attic, the best option is to purchase a live trap. This protects you from having to deal with the general unpleasantness of having to remove a carcass (when using a traditional snap trap) and instead allows you to release the opossum in the wild.

Caution: some states have specific regulations about releasing animals into the wild, so make sure you do your research before you attempt any such action, otherwise you risk landing in hot legal waters.

Generally, we wouldn’t recommend using poison to solve your opossum problem. Not only because it is painful and inhumane (the animal may take several hours to die slowly and in terrible pain), but also because it’s problematic. If an animal ingests poison and then crawls into the wall, vent, or roof, and dies in there, you’ll then have to deal with getting the dead animal out.

This is unpleasant, smelly, and quite expensive, so it’s best just to avoid it.

• Alternatively, call a pro.

Of course, if you don’t want to have to deal with removing the animal yourself, you can opt for professional wildlife removal, instead. This will ensure that the work is done expertly and swiftly. Not only that, but a professional wildlife removal company is also able to sanitize and repair the damage done to your attic, thus ridding you of a second problem. 

• Sanitize and fix.

If you have chosen to trap the animal yourself, however, you will then need to start cleaning the attic. Go over each surface, and insist on the area where the opossum was living. Make sure to protect yourself using a face mask, rubber gloves, and wearing long sleeves. You don’t want to come into contact with opossum feces, as these carry a wide range of serious diseases. 

Next, you will also want to fix the insulation, wires, structures, or other items in your attic that have sustained damage.

• Eliminate the attraction.

Last, but also important, you want to identify what attracted the opossum to your property (exposed leftovers, dripping pipe, open trash cans, etc.), and remove that. If you don’t, you’ll just keep running into wildlife trouble in the future.