Possums in the Attic

Education - Possums in the Attic

Sometimes opossums enter the attic of your house and live there. Follow the below advice to safely remove opossums in your attic.

How To Get Possums Out of Your Attic

Sure, of course opossums live in attics! I deal with at least a dozen such cases each year. Opossums are opportunistic and nomadic, and they wander about and look for a nice place to live. They aren't very picky, and they will often live under your porch or shed or deck, or up in your attic. Opossums are excellent climbers, with their opposable thumbs and prehensile tail (read more about opossums), and the have no problem gaining access to your roof. They won't tear open a hole the way raccoons will, but if there's an opening, such as an eave gap or an unscreened vent, they'll walk right in! I most commonly see opossums in attics at either of two times per year. The first is in the spring, when female opossums have their babies. The young start in a pouch (possums are marsupials), and then as they grow, they cling to momma's back. The female possum likes a safe place to stay, and keep her babies safe, and an attic fits the bill. If you do encounter an opossum in the attic during the spring, you will have to deal with babies. They often drop off the mother and wander around, and unfortunately, they sometimes fall down wall cavities from the attic, and get stuck down the wall. If that's the case, you have to cut the wall to get them out. The other time I see opossums in the attic is during the winter, when they want a warm place to shelter. In these cases, I have found up to five separate large adults, all sharing the same attic.

To get rid of possums in the attic, you have to follow the following steps: First, inspect the attic and identify the animal and the damage it has caused. You may even spot a possum. If so, you are in luck, because this is one of the few animals you can remove by hand or snare pole fairly easily. If you don't see it, you'll have to set possum traps, and again, you're in luck, because this is pretty much the only animal that will enter a cage trap in the attic. You can also set traps outside. To ensure that you catch the target animal, you're best off setting the trap near the entry hole the possums are using to get inside the house. Bolt the trap on the roof. You can bait it with almost anything. You can also set one-way exclusion doors at the entrance/exit to the attic. Once you are sure all the possums are out, including the babies, seal shut the entry hole. Don't mess up here, because if you leave a possum trapped inside the attic, get ready for scratching and if the animal(s) die, get ready for the worst odor you've ever smelled. Opossums also leave a high amount of droppings in the attic, so I highly recommend attic cleaning services if you've had opossums. If you need professional help, we service most of the United States: click here to hire us in your town.

How to Get Rid of Possums in the Attic - 4 How-To Steps

1 - Inspect the Attic, Identify Possum

Inspect inside your attic for opossum sign. Look for the animal(s), or their feces, or tracks, or damage so that you know what kind of critter you are dealing with.

2 - Inspect the Exterior of the Home

If you've got opossums in the attic, they are getting inside somehow. You have open holes or gaps leading inside the house! You must find these areas to solve the problem.

3 - Remove or Trap the Possums

The best way to get rid of opossum in the attic is to either remove them by hand like in the above photo, or set large cage traps (12x12x30) to catch them.

4 - Repair the Possum Entry Holes

To prevent the problem from happening again, seal shut the entry hole(s)! Also, in the case of opossums, it's a good idea to repair the damage in the attic and clean it too.

HOW MUCH DOES OPOSSUM REMOVAL COST? Prices vary depending on the situation. Some jobs are simple, require only one service visit, and might be as low as $100. Some jobs are complex, require multiple service visits, home repairs, attic cleanup, and so on. Prices can also vary by city. To get the best price estimate, call our technician in your area: Click here for a free price quote over the phone in your town.

Information About Possums in the Attic

How to get rid of opossums in the attic -The Opossum is one of the more interesting critters that you will find in nature. It is North America’s lone marsupial that is native to the land. This means that when its young are born that they live in a pouch inside the mother until they are ready to go off on their own. These are quite unique animals that make them rather fun to study.

While they may make for an interesting conversation or research, that does not mean you want one living in your attic. These are very messy animals that can create a whole lot of health issues for you and your family because of the diseases and parasites that they carry. You clearly do not want them around your home, and especially don’t want them inside your house. You may already be reading this page because they've started to live in your house, but if not, and for the future, you might want to read about strategies to keep opossums away.

Sadly, your attic presents the most ideal environment for the opossum. Because people rarely go into this room in their home the critter can live there relatively undisturbed for quite a long period of time. The mess that can be made can be quite disturbing to say the least.

So what do you do if you have one of these critters in your home? How do you get rid of opossums in the attic? The solution depends upon what you want the outcome to look like.

If you are looking for a permanent solution than the best option to you is to use some kind of poison or to hire an exterminator to kill off this critter. This is a permanent way of ensuring that the animal cannot come back and keeps your home is much better shape.

There are also those professionals that will capture the animal for you and remove it from your home. While these seem like great options for you, you may not like the idea of having to spend a great deal of money to do this job. That leaves you with a really good option.

What you can do is buy a one-way funnel to get the animal out of your home and help to keep it out. The way this works is simple. Before applying the funnel, look on the outside of your home to find where the opossum is getting in. If you find one make sure that there are no other options. You will want to keep this animal out and if you have not fixed every loose board, hole, or gap.

Once you have found the location attached the one-way funnel. When it is starting to get dark outside make a big ruckus inside your attic and turn on all the lights in there. This will startle the opossum which will force it through the funnel and it will not be able to get back in. Now seal the hole or entryway and your problem should be resolved. There is no need to kill the possum in any part of the process.

The Bottom Line

How to get rid of opossums in the attic - they are not so easily just "gotten rid of". But they can be properly and effectively removed, and the problem can be prevented from happening again. There is no such thing as an effective opossum repellent. Remember to follow the steps above, whether you do it yourself or hire a professional to do it for you. It is not easy work, but if you don't remove the opossums in your attic, they will go on to cause further damage. When you do decide to remove them, please remember to treat the animals with respect, and take the work seriously, and remember about the presence of baby opossums in the attic. You can get rid of opossums in the attic if you follow the correct approach. Best of luck!