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When you know what attracts an animal to your
property, you can take steps to remove those from
the equation, hopefully getting rid of the wild
animal control issue at the same time. If you
notice animals in your yard or on your land, you
should investigate further because it could very
well be a sign that there is more trouble afoot.
Animals will come onto your property for one of
three reasons — you’re offering food, you’re
offering shelter, or you’re offering fresh water.
This is what the opossum needs to survive.
To start with, take way all food elements from
your land. Do you have leftover food on the BBQ
that you’ll “clean up tomorrow”? Have you left
food out for hedgehogs? What about the bird
feeder? You should take those cat and dog bowls
inside too. These creatures WILL come into your
territory from time to time, and there’s not very
much you can do about that. What you can do, on
the other hand, is come out with ways to
discourage them from sticking around. They’re not
a bad thing to have in your garden occasionally.
They eat a lot of the bugs that you would have a
problem with — worms, snails, slugs, flies, etc.,
and they will small eat rats and mice too. Without
animals like the opossum, those other insects
would be in such high amounts that you probably
wouldn’t want to leave the house.
Learn about the Opossum's Natural Diet
Opossums are considered to be one of mother
nature’s “cleaner-uppers”. They need lots of
calcium, and just one of the ways they incorporate
this into their diet, is by eating the bones of
the animals they kill or eat. They really do clean
up after everything else.
Is your garbage can out in the yard? Does it have
a lid? If it doesn’t, you should get a garbage can
with a lid, and preferably a metal one. If the lid
can’t be secured with a latch (which raccoons can
sometimes break into), use bungee cords to help
keep things secure. You could also consider moving
it inside. Could it fit in your garage for now? Is
your garage sealed and opossum-proof?
We can answer: Are opossums dangerous to cats, dogs, or other pets?
Do you have fruits growing in your garden? Never
leave the dropped fruits on the floor. These are
just begging to be eaten by a wandering wild
opossum. Pick them up and dispose of them properly
and, once again, the opossum won’t have a reason
to stick around.
What about the bird feeder? Sends and nuts fall
from the bottom of that all the time when the
birds are trying to feed, and something, if not an
opossum, will be along shortly to help clean it
all up.
Opossums are generally non-aggressive animals, so
if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone
too. If you ensure that your home is fully sealed,
and all human / pet food sources are taken away,
it will likely just hang around for a bit, eat
some insects, and then carry right on with its
day, not bothering you in the slightest. If it
comes into your garden, eats some insects, finds
some cat food, eats some nuts and seeds that have
fallen from the bird feeder, found some fruits
growing in your garden, it will have more than a
few reason to stay. It will look around to try and
find a warm, cozy home, and nine times out of ten,
it’ll head right for your warm, cozy home.
For more information, you may want
to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
How
much does opossum removal cost? - get the
lowdown on prices.
How
to get rid of opossums - my main opossum
removal info guide.
Example
opossum trapping photographs - get
do-it-yourself ideas.
Opossum
job blog - learn from great examples of
opossum jobs I've done.