Suspect there’s a possum rummaging around in your garage at night? Since they’re nocturnal animals, you may find that you never catch them during the day.
Below you’ll find everything you need to know about possums, how to trap one and how to prevent them from ever entering your garage again.
If you’re ready to get rid of a possum in your garage, let’s get started!
Why is there a possum in my garage?
Opossums are great at climbing, so they can make their way through the garage door or window. They may be attracted to the pet food that you have within your garage or the trashcan. Possums also like to chow down on garden food, so they may make their way into your garage after chowing down in your garden.
Opossums also like smelly trashcans and compost heaps. They like to live near a water source, so if you have a pond, ditch, or sewer nearby that may be why you see possums around your home. If you have pet doors, they may also make their way inside through the door.
Signs you have a possum in your garage
- Droppings that resemble dog droppings
- Damaged bins/equipment
- Sounds at night
- Damage to exterior of the garage
- Loud scratching noises
- Pet food that goes missing
- Bad smell that doesn’t go away
- Track with oppossable thumbs
How to Get Rid of a Possum in Your Garage
If you suspect that a possum is in your garage, you can take the steps below to get humanely rid of the possum. You will need to purchase a trap to get rid of the possum once in for all. You may get lucky and spot it and it will start to play dead, but if you don’t feel like going through all of this trouble you can get a free quote from our professional pest control service.
Step 1
Inspect your garage. Move everything away from the walls and see if you find any holes that the possum might come in through. Check your trash can and pet food to see if you notice that any food is missing. You can check along your garage door and entrance door to see if there are any scratch marks indicating that a possum has been around.
Step 2
Look for the possum nest. If you notice the possum has been coming back day after day, it’s likely there is a nest is nearby. Check under your belongings and in the attic as well if you have one. Remove the nest if you find it.
Step 3
If you’ve found evidence that the possum is inside of your garage, remove any food sources that you have. Keep the trash outside and put any pet food you may have indoors as well as canned or dry goods.
Step 4
Place the trap where you notice the possum has been coming and going. This may be near the hole in your wall or near where you find droppings. Place the trap on an even surface to prevent the possum from knocking it over. You can also place a weight on top of the trap to prevent any damage.
Step 5
Place food on the trap and wait. The best food would be fish or apples but you can use canned pet food or peanut butter as well. I recommend checking the trap twice a day. Give the trap time to do its magic and check back in once in the morning and once at night.
Do not keep the possum trapped for more than 24 hours if possible. Once you have the possum trapped, relocate it to a place away from your home and let it go.
Other Opossum Control Methods
Prevent future infestations with these preventative measures below.
1. Remove food sources and pet food
If you keep pet food inside of your garage, it’s a good idea to move it inside. Keep your trash outside as well if at all possible. Possums want to eat, and if you have no potential food sources in the garage they won’t have any business in there.
Do not intentionally feed the possums either under any circumstances!
2. Set up a motion activated light
Sett up motion-activated lights inside and outside of your garage. Since possums are nocturnal creatures, it may frighten the possum and dissuade them from approaching your home and garage.
3. Use strong scented objects
If you have a lot of garlic sitting around, it can help prevent possums from going inside your garage. You can also utilize mothballs as well to prevent future infestations. You can scatter the mothballs around your garage and in areas you think possums may enter your home.
4. Secure any holes you find around the garage or garage door
If you find small holes around the perimeter of your garage, you can place steel wool inside of them. Once you’ve done that, you put caulk around the hole to secure it in place. If you find bigger holes, you may need to hire a professional to seal them.
Removing the entry points for possums will prevent them from making it inside.
5. Hire wild animal pest control services
It can be daunting to remove a possum from your garage, especially if you’re scared like me! Not only will you be helped by a professional, they can also give you tips to prevent not only possum infestations but any other small animal as well.
Final Thoughts
Getting a possum out of your garage can be a nightmare, but I recommend taking a deep breath and getting control over the situation. You’ll find that the possum is more scared of you than you are of it! If it sees you, it’ll likely roll over and play dead so you don’t have anything to worry about. Be careful when handling possums just in case!
Have other critters in your garage? You can find out how to get rid of them below!
