What Attracts Opossums?
Fun fact: opossums are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal life. Unfortunately, this also means that your property is most likely idyllic for opossums – providing them with both insects and plants to eat.
Food
If you have a habit of leaving food outside for your pets or even just filling up the bird feeders, you might be attracting opossums into your yard.
Opossums have poor eyesight and hearing, so they rely heavily on their sense of smell to find food sources. Opossums are attracted to the smell of pet food, bird feeders, chicken coops, and essentially all food left outside.
Luckily, you can still feed your pets and birds without feeding the pesky opossums. Simply bring your feeders inside at night and keep them isolated while outside.
Gardens
Opossums will start by eating the smaller insects in the garden, including snails, beetles, and mice. This does not seem all that bad considering the opossums are ridding your garden from other insects. But the nuisance comes in the form of trampled plants and stolen fruits and vegetables.
The best way to keep opossums out of your garden is by enclosing the garden beds. A simple fence or wire enclosure will ensure only welcomed visitors are allowed into your garden.
Garbage
Not unlike most animals and pests, opossums love to savage through human trash. Opossums are not picky when it comes to their food, which means they will quickly go through a trashcan if they can smell food inside.
While this does counter food waste, opossums digging through your trashcan every night can be annoying, and not to mention, messy.
To keep opossums away from your garbage, it is important to regularly spray the trashcan with ammonia. Not only will the ammonia keep your trashcans clean, but the strong smell will also keep opossums and other critters out.
Another proven method is keeping your garbage cans covered with a locked lid. Even if the opossum smells food inside your garbage, they will not be able to access it.
Darkness
Possums are nocturnal animals, which means they thrive in the darkness. As soon as the sun goes down, possums become active in search of food and shelter. If your property is masked in darkness, you are essentially inviting these pesky animals into your home.
Possums are sensitive to light. The light will make them feel uncomfortable and unsafe, which will ultimately scare them away. In order to repel possums, make sure to keep the outside of your home well-lit. This is best managed with motion-activated outdoor lights or flood lights.
5 Signs that You’re Dealing with an Opossum Problem
5 Signs that You’re Dealing with an Opossum Problem
Having an opossum problem on your property is very similar to other pest problems, so it can be tough to know how exactly to address the problem. However, there are some telltale signs which are quite easy to spot, if you know what you’re looking for.
1. Weird Smells
One of the biggest telltale signs of an opossum issue is the unpleasant smell that accompanies it. Opossums leave behind droppings that can be as large as a cat’s – and these droppings will tend to soak into building materials and cause a distinctively bad odor. If you recognize a bad smell and see droppings that looks like a cat’s, chances are that you’re dealing with opossums.
2. Loud Animal Noises
Opossums are also known for their wide range of distinct vocalizations. They will typically hiss or shriek, and the mother opossum is also known to make clicking and smacking sounds with their lips to call their offspring. In some cases, they may even sound like rats or mice – the difference will be that the noises will be much louder than what a rat or mouse can make, since opossums are much bigger.
3. Scratching
When opossums move from place to place, they make fairly loud scratching and scuttling noises. Again, since it’s bigger than a mouse, the sounds will be louder. In addition, since opossums tend to be on the move more frequently, the scratching will seem to be in a much wider area than if it were a mouse issue.
4. Exterior Property Damage
If opossums have entered your property, it’s likely that you’ll notice some damage to the exterior of your home. Check especially for damaged shingles or ripped soffit on the roof as these are prime entry points. You should also check your siding, gutters, and eaves for any damage. The entry point will usually be more immediately apparent than it would be for other pests.
5. Disappearing Pet Food or Garbage
Opossums are usually attracted to pet food, especially cat food. So, if you have an outdoor cat and notice that food is disappearing more quickly than usual, it could be a sign of a problem. Check your garbage cans as well as these can also be raided by hungry opossums.
Have An Opposum Problem? Call the Experts at Shumaker Animal Control
If you think you have an Opposum problem on your property, call the experts at Shumaker Animal Control to deal with the problem for you. Our experienced team will take care of the problem in a timely manner, ensuring that your home and pets are not in any danger.
At Shumaker Animal Control, we are a family-owned business that cares about the safety of you and your family but also about the well-being of the animals themselves. All of our trapping and control methods are humane, as we never try to hurt the angry or scared animal.
Call us at 443-854-8072, visit our website or fill out our contact form for more information.