What attracts opossums?

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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.