Will an opossum under a shed or porch have a nest of babies?

Opossums live most anywhere and are extremely adaptable. They will move in anywhere that offers food, water and shelter. Under your porch or shed provides opossums with the perfect location to raise their young. Opossums eat lots of bugs including ticks, as well as mice, rats, slugs, other bugs, invertebrates, and carrion. Therefore, they are not too bad to have living in your yard. If you think, you have an opossum under your porch or shed you will find that the best time of year to clear them out is in the very early spring, before a mother gives birth to her litter or in the fall when the juvenile opossums are old enough to move out on their own.



If the mother opossum has a nest with babies under your porch, it will be difficult to relocate them. Most suggestions for DIY opossum removal involves making the area under the porch or shed uncomfortable. Some suggestions are to throw mothballs or rags soaked in ammonia under the porch. Other ideas are to install bright lights, or noise like a radio. You could set a live trap or extraction funnel and cage, but keep in mind that you will have an opossum with babies to relocate.

You can also call in a professional animal removal service. They will send out a trained handler who can locate and trap the opossum and its joeys. The workman will take it away to a rehabilitation center. Once your opossum is gone, begin repairs to ensure that they cannot return. You should restrict access to the area underside of your porch by screening it in. Use 1/8 inch hardware cloth buried about 2 inches in the ground all around. Put siding around the base of your shed, again burying it 2-3 inches to prevent burrowing. Make random checks for signs of animals, like noises, droppings, or a tear in your line of defense.

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