Outdoor Animal Control - opossums

Hello I seam to have a problem with opossums.Ones hanging around my house cause of the recycle bucket which has empty peanut butter and some kitchen trash stored there also.Never had this problem before.What are my options? If I can animal control will they put traps out and do I have to pay for those traps.For those that don't know what a opossum his heres a link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum

thank you in advance for any help you can provide

Services provided by animal control tend to vary from area to area as do costs, if any. You can call to report your problem and inquire about any fees. Garbage, especially that containing food waste, placed outdoors is always best placed in a sealed bags before placing into to garbage cans for pickup. Cans should always be tightly sealed to keep out pets. Items to be picked up for recycling usually exclude food waste.

The best control is to make your landscape less desirable to opossums. Food items should not be placed in compost bins or heaps. Avoid leaving out pet food at night. Cut back overgrown shrubs and weeds and eliminate areas where animals can hide or nest. Seal all food waste in bags and place outdoors in trash containers for pick up.

Once opossums become a problem, trapping is the best control. Many areas do not allow relocation. It is best to contact animal or wildlife control to learn your options.

Most of the time animal control will not do anything for animals such as that. Things that help is to keep food items out of the area and a good treatment to kill the grubs in your yard as that is a bug they feed on.

An outside dog may help. I used to have a problem with 'possums and coons getting the cat's food on the porch. Had to bring their food in every night. My old dog died [of old age] and the new dog barks at everything that moves :eek: Haven't seen a coon or 'possum since, no deer either :(


The first time my grandson saw a 'possum [he was about 2] he jumped back and hollered MOUSE, MOUSE, BIGGG MOUSE :D

We don't have possums but have lots of other trash-attracted critters where we live (crows, coons, and bears). We quite simply keep anything that would attract a critter inside a secure building or critter-proof container until trash day, then put out the trash that morning, and no sooner. Same with recycling and pet food. The problem is that if your area's trash critter figures out you are feeding it, it will keep coming back and will teach it's babies that your house is a source of food. Before you know it, you have a big problem. And I understand Possums can be agressive so I wouldn't chance it.

Could be worse though - you could have bears. We keep our trash in a solid storage shed. It used to have a simple turnbuckle latch until the bear ripped that off and had his way with our trash. Now we have a 2x4 across the shed doors, secured with two wingnut bolts. If the bear can get THAT off, he can have the trash!

marksr, my dad used to have problems with racoons getting into the cat food, so he started putting the cat food on the deck right by the back door. One day he caught the cat sleeping on the deck while the racoons had their way with her food! Once the cat realized she was being watched she half-heartedly shooed away the coon. Seems they had a secret paw-shake deal.

As other have said cultural control is the most effective means of handling the problem
Modifying your behavior will have more positive effects than try to modify theirs

Animals want eat, sleep, and procreate if none of those activities are available they will go elsewhere