It’s a sleek creature, with an interesting coat of awn hair and an alluring pair of eyes. Why on earth would anyone want to get rid of it? As it happens, there is more to an opossum than meets the eye. At the best of times, which are admittedly very rare, it can look like a positively cute little thing, but most of the time, it looks like a right little devil, especially if it ends up in your yard.
Why would you want to get rid of an opossum?
Some people seem to detest these marsupials simply because they consider them hideous and can’t bear the sight of them. Of course, I beg to differ, but that is neither here nor there. For the most part, though, opossums are a nuisance because they tend to get in all sorts of places where they are not wanted.
From birdcages to sheds in your yard, no place is off-limits to these creatures, and they tend to wreak havoc wherever they end up, much like raccoons. It doesn’t help that they smell really bad, which is all the more reason to remove them from your yard immediately.
Now that we have to figure out why they are considered such demented creatures let’s look at some methods that you can be employed to eliminate them from your yard, without having to rely on poison.
Remove all possible food sources
Opossums are omnivorous, so they tend to be attracted by just about any delicious thing. From vegetables and insects to garbage, they will gobble it up. Therefore, if you have any such thing lying around in your yard, you need to remove it. Without any food sources, the creature will either give up, or die trying, but either way, it’s good news for you at the end.
Remove all possible shelters
Animals instinctively seek shelter, and the little ones like opossums tend to find it more or less everywhere. This is also what lures them to your yard, so you need to ensure that you are not providing them with any hiding place. Keep your sheds and garages closed. Get rid of brush and wood piles. If there are any empty containers of any sort lying around, you need to eliminate them, too.
By removing all possible shelters, you are indicating to the opossum that it’s not welcome here. Even if it still stubbornly sticks around your yard for some inane reason, it won’t survive for long.
Using ammonia and mothballs
No, you won’t be feeding this stuff to the annoying creatures, as much as you might like to. If ammonia smells bad to you, then it certainly smells terrible to the opossums, and they are repulsed by mothballs as well. You can place both of them in strategic locations around the yard to ensure that your uninvited guest leaves you forever.
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