Although opossum can offer some benefits in terms of garbage and insect control, they can also be quite the pest. These unappealing nocturnal animals are known for causing loads of destruction to both residential and commercial properties. Not only can these critters be highly destructive to homes, buildings, and landscapes, they can also pose several different health risks.
Continue reading to learn more about nuisance opossum activity, and what you can do to put a stop to it on your property.
Opossums Carry Disease and Mites
Opossum are not known carriers of common canine and feline diseases, but they can infect domestic pets and humans with many others. The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Department states, “Opossum carry diseases such as leptospirosis, tuberculosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, and Chagas disease. They may also be infested with fleas, ticks, mites, and lice.”
As if disease and safety risks are not enough to want to keep opossum off of your property, these nocturnal animals also cause a long list of structural damages to lawns, gardens, patios, porches, decks, crawl spaces, and more. These damages can happen overnight, and cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to repair.
What You Need to Do to Get Rid of Opossums For Good
Preventative maintenance is the best way to protect your property from opossum damage. This includes making certain environmental modifications to reduce your home’s attractiveness to nuisance wildlife. To start, remove all outdoor food and water sources (i.e. bird baths, pet food, water bowls, garbage cans, compost piles, etc.). When it comes to garbage, always be sure to take yours out on the day of trash pickup.
You can also use predator urine, opossum repellents (non-toxic ones only please), motion lighting, or electronic sound machines to scare opossum away. If you have a garden with fruits and vegetables, be sure to pick when ripe to avoid attracting hungry opossum at night. Rotten fruit will attract nuisance wildlife, as well as a swarm of insects and other pests.
After making all of your needed environmental modifications, you can step it up by having your home inspected for holes, openings, and gaps that nuisance wildlife can use to get inside. This includes pet doors, trash shoots, dumbwaiters, and chimneys. A licensed Indianapolis wildlife removal and control company can provide this service for you.
It is important to seal up any openings under slabs, in siding, on roofs, in the foundation and more. You can remove hiding spots yourself too, such as brush piles, log piles, dilapidated sheds, abandoned vehicles, fallen trees, and more. A wildlife removal and control company can help you with all of this.
What to Do if You See One
NEVER attempt to touch, trap, harm, or kill an opossum. If you discover one on your property, you’re your pets indoors until it goes away. If opossum continue to come back night after night after you have implemented all of the necessary property changes, OR you discover one in your home, immediately contact a licensed wildlife control company for emergency service. They have the proper permits, training, and experience to provide safe, non-lethal opossum removal that adheres to the state and federal laws that govern wildlife.
Where to Get Humane Opossum Control in Indianapolis, Indiana
Call Modern Wildlife Control at 317-847-6409 when you need fast and affordable opossum removal and control services in Indianapolis, Indiana and its surrounding counties. Our DNR licensed and insured wildlife rescue and removal professionals offer non-lethal wildlife control services for residential and commercial properties. We work with all species of Indiana wildlife, but specialize in raccoons, bats, birds, and squirrels. We also offer cleanup services and restoration and repair for animal damages, and can even provide insurance claim work. Start with a free estimate or advice, today!
