In addition to ammonia and mothballs, possums will also steer clear of odors of vinegar, garlic, onion, peppermint, and camphor. These strong scents are often used as natural repellents to keep opossums away from gardens, trash cans, and other areas where they may be unwanted.
Possums despise the smell of peppermint, so mixing a few drops of peppermint oil with some water can serve as a homemade possum repellent. Place the mixture in a spray bottle, and mist your garden and the entrances to your home.
Installing motion-activated sprinklers or lights can get expensive. However, it can be effective if you can't seem to keep them away. The sudden light or water will scare the opossums away and deter them from coming back.
If the possum is hiding somewhere in your roof or garage, you can place mothballs around the place. Their smell is unbearable to the possums, which makes the place no longer desirable. There's a bonus benefit – no moths either.
Vicks can be used for a home-made remedy. Mix equal quantities of Vaseline and Vicks VapoRub on a plastic container. Use a knife to spread the mixture along any known possum routes eg along fences. Spotlights trained onto trees can often be effective in reducing possum attacks.
Carbon dioxide gas is the most appropriate technique to euthanize opossums. Opossums also can be humanely killed with a gunshot to the head, if legal and safe in your area.
Because of its odor, bleach is a great way to ensure possums keep their distance. Experts recommend mixing one part bleach with 10 parts water to make a spray. Spray it in strategic areas around the house or yard to repel possums.
Aim to start a disturbance near where the opossum is to startle the opossum and make it want to leave. Making a loud noise or playing loud music usually is enough to get the animal to retreat off your property. If noise doesn't do the trick, you can try setting up balloons, pinwheels or oscillating fans in your yard.
Turn On Extra Lights
These animals are nocturnal and only come out when it's dark. Use this to your advantage. Exterior house lights, floodlights pointed at the darkest areas of the yard, and lights attached to garden sheds and other garden structures repel opossums and keep them away from the area.
Produce loud noises
Possums are shy animals, and they will usually avoid areas with a lot of noise. You can make noise by playing music, banging on pots and pans, or using a loud air horn.
Opossums have high mortality rates at all ages. They are killed by dogs, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, bobcats, eagles, hawks, and owls, with young opossums being the most vulnerable.
Do not feed possums almonds, cheese, onions, dairy products, green potatoes or junk food. Put food in containers in high, sheltered areas.
Main predators include dogs, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, large hawks, and great horned owls. The chance of rabies in opossums is extremely rare.
Similar to their interactions with humans, an opossum is not likely to prey on cats, dogs or other furry friends. If frightened by your pet, the opossum will likely play dead or emit a horrible stench.
Possum poop is usually blackish or very dark brown and can look like the feces of a small cat or dog. You may find bits of paper or garbage in the poop because these animals can be scavengers if their normal food source is not available. Possum feces is usually found in a pile or in a row of broken droppings.
Possums respond negatively to noxious odors. They abhor the smell of ammonia, garlic, and napthalene (chemical found in moth balls). They are also afraid of lights at night, and don't like to be wet.
Possums are repelled by the stench of garlic, ammonia and mothballs. So go ahead and scatter those around where you think possums might hang out. Garlic works best when it's crushed. If you decide to use ammonia, be careful!
Leave the opossum alone and enjoy watching wildlife in your own backyard. However, if the opossum is injured or an orphan (less than 7 inches from nose to rump) then contact the Opossum Society of the United States, a local wildlife rehabilitator, a veterinarian, or your local animal shelter for help.
Cyanide poison provides an effective means of controlling possums whilst minimising the potential risk to the environment, birds and other non- target species. Cyanide paste and pellets used by possum hunters is coloured green, so that it should not be mistaken for other non-toxic substances.
Fencing in or clearing out areas in which opossums can hide will eliminate many problems with these animals. If you know where they are hiding near your house, you can also place some rags soaked in apple cider vinegar near the area you see them- they dislike strong odors.
To keep raccoons, possums, skunks, or other critters out of your garbage, regularly spray the side of your cans with a mixture of half ammonia, and half water. They hate the smell (as we all do) and will stay away. (You can also try using an ammonia-based glass cleaner like Windex, but it's not as strong.)
Spicy Peppers – Like garlic, hot peppers produce a taste and scent opossums dislike. Mix one cup of water, a half cup of dish soap, and a half cup of hot sauce or crushed hot peppers together. Spray this mixture around your yard.
Opossum are not aggressive: their open-mouth, defensive hissing is merely a bluff to look vicious. And if that doesn't work they play dead when really scared! If there is an opossum in the backyard, don't worry. They aren't a threat, and more than likely they will be moving on in a short while.
Small mammals including possums and bandicoots often consume poisons such as snail bait, or rat bait that has been laid out to attract and kill rats, mice, and rabbits. Poisons such as pindone are often added to oats or carrots, and lead to a slow, painful death of internal bleeding.