Possums, or opossums, are typically docile nocturnal critters, not aggressive or confrontational. However, when opossums sense danger or feel threatened, they will put on a good show by either hissing or playing dead. While they are not a physical threat, opossums can pose a threat to human health and residential homes in the form of infectious disease spread and property damage.
Here are some of the dangers associated with an opossum infestation and ways you can keep possums away from your home.
The Threat of Invasive Possums
Possums can carry diseases or diseased parasites that are highly contagious. Keeping them around your home could end in a potentially dangerous situation. They also like to wander around gardens and trash cans, leaving unpleasant smells, litter, and destroyed vegetation. Professional opossum control is the only way to prevent threatening encounters with your pets and situations that could result in damage to your home.
4 DIY Opossum Control Tactics
The best way to get possums away from your home is by calling wildlife removal professionals to take care of the problem; however, you can try these DIY opossum control deterrents to ward off the critters.
- Cover your trash. Just like any other pest, possums are attracted to the stench of garbage. Leaving out pet food bowls or uncovered trash cans overnight is a dinner invitation for these hungry critters.
- Protect your garden. Spreading molasses, fragrant spices, or quassia bark chips on the ground can keep possums out of your garden. They do not like the smell or taste of these items and will avoid your plants at all costs.
- Fill in yard holes. Possums are not very handy. They tend to live in dug out homes from creatures that previously lived there. If you see holes under slabs of concrete or piles of brush, fill it in and place mothballs inside for extra protection.
- Secure entry ways. Possums are not likely to enter a home, but a desperately hungry possum just might. In the event that they do, lock all pet doors and make frequent property checks to ensure there are no other entry ways for them to access.
While the above DIY methods may provide a temporary fix to your possum problem, they are often ineffective, time-consuming, and may cost more money in the long run than calling an opossum control expert.
Reliable Polk County Opossum Control Services
At Critter Control® of Polk County, we pride ourselves in using fast, eco-friendly, and humane methods of removal when it comes to keeping unwanted critters away from your home or workplace. If you encounter possums on your Polk County property, keep your distance and contact the wildlife removal experts at Critter Control® of Polk County immediately. To schedule an inspection and receive a free estimate for our opossum removal services, call us today at 863-204-2815.
