The most reliable way to scare possums away from your house is to remove what’s attracting them in the first place: food, water, and shelter. Possums are opportunistic and lazy about housing. They don’t dig their own dens. They move into existing spaces beneath porches, decks, sheds, and crawl spaces. Cut off those resources and make your yard uncomfortable, and possums will move on to easier territory.
Remove Food Sources First
Before you invest in gadgets or repellents, start with the basics. Possums show up because your property is feeding them. They eat nearly anything: pet food, garbage, fallen fruit, grubs, compost, and birdseed. A University of Georgia wildlife biologist recommends keeping garbage can lids secured, using sealed compost bins, and picking up fallen fruit from under trees (though possums can climb, so fruit on the ground is especially easy pickings).
If you feed pets outdoors, bring the bowls inside at dusk. Possums are nocturnal and do most of their foraging after dark. Birdfeeders that scatter seed on the ground are another magnet. Even grubs in your lawn can draw possums, which will dig small holes looking for insects. Treating your lawn for grubs solves two problems at once.
Eliminate Shelter Around Your Yard
Possums are squatters. They look for dark, quiet spaces that are already there: brush piles, stacked firewood, rock piles, and gaps under structures. Clearing these hideouts makes your property far less appealing. Move firewood away from the house and stack it off the ground. Remove piles of debris, leaves, or building materials where a possum could curl up during the day.
Overgrown shrubs tight against the house can also provide cover. Trimming vegetation back from your foundation removes both hiding spots and easy access to rooflines. Possums are excellent climbers, and dense branches near the house act like a highway to your attic or roof vents.
Seal Entry Points With Physical Barriers
If possums are already getting under your porch, deck, or into your crawl space, exclusion is the permanent fix. Heavy-duty hardware cloth buried several inches below ground around the perimeter of decks, porches, and sheds blocks possums from squeezing underneath. Standard chicken wire isn’t strong enough. Use galvanized hardware cloth with openings no larger than half an inch.
Check for gaps around foundation vents, dryer vents, soffit openings, and where utility lines enter the house. Possums don’t need a large opening. If you can fit your fist through a gap, a possum can likely get through it. Seal these with heavy-duty mesh or metal flashing. Before sealing any space, make sure no animals are currently trapped inside. The simplest check is to loosely stuff the opening with newspaper and wait two nights. If the paper is undisturbed, the space is likely empty.
Sensory Deterrents That Actually Help
Motion-activated lights and sprinklers are among the more effective scare tactics for possums. Because possums are nocturnal, a sudden burst of light or water genuinely startles them. Solar-powered motion-sensor lights with flashing or strobe settings work well near entry points, trash cans, and garden beds. Motion-activated sprinklers cover a wider area and add the physical surprise of water, which possums strongly dislike.
Ultrasonic animal repellers, often solar-powered units that combine high-frequency sound with flashing lights, are widely sold for possum deterrence. They detect motion and emit sounds above human hearing range. Results are mixed. Some homeowners report success, while others find that possums habituate to the sound over time. These devices work best as one layer in a broader strategy, not as a standalone solution.
Predator-eye lights, small red LED units designed to mimic the reflective eyes of a predator, are another option for dark areas like under decks or near chicken coops. They’re inexpensive and solar-powered, but like ultrasonic devices, they lose effectiveness if the possum learns there’s no actual threat behind them.
Scent-Based Repellents
Possums have a strong sense of smell, and certain scents can push them away from specific areas. Peppermint oil is one of the most commonly used natural repellents. Pre-made peppermint oil repellent balls are available and convenient for placing around entry points, attics, crawl spaces, or RV storage. You can also soak cotton balls in peppermint essential oil and place them in problem areas, though these need to be refreshed every few days as the scent fades.
Ammonia-soaked rags placed near den openings can also encourage possums to leave, as the smell mimics predator urine. Garlic and hot pepper sprays applied to garden plants deter browsing. None of these repellents are permanent solutions on their own. Rain washes them away, and possums may tolerate the smell if the food reward is strong enough. Pair scent repellents with food removal and exclusion for lasting results.
Fencing Your Garden or Specific Areas
Standard fencing won’t stop a possum. They’re skilled climbers and can scale wood fences, chain link, and even smooth surfaces using their prehensile tails and opposable thumbs. To possum-proof a garden or chicken coop, add an outward-angled extension at the top of the fence, about 12 to 18 inches of mesh angled at 45 degrees away from the enclosed area. This overhang prevents possums from climbing over the top. Electric fence wire along the top rail is another effective option for garden perimeters.
Trapping and Legal Considerations
Trapping is legal in many states but comes with specific rules. In Indiana, for example, landowners can trap possums causing property damage without a permit, but the animal must be either euthanized or released within the same county on private land where you have permission. Many states have similar restrictions and actively discourage relocation because it can spread disease. Check your state wildlife agency’s website before setting any trap.
Live cage traps baited with canned cat food, fruit, or peanut butter are the standard approach. Place them along walls or fences where you’ve seen possum activity, not in the middle of an open yard. If you’d rather not handle a trapped possum yourself, licensed wildlife control operators are available in most areas and handle removal, exclusion, and cleanup.
Are Possums Actually Dangerous?
Possums look intimidating when they bare their 50 teeth, but they’re remarkably passive. Their famous “playing dead” response is involuntary, a stress reaction where they collapse, go stiff, and even emit a foul smell to convince predators they’re not worth eating. Attacks on people or pets are rare. Dogs are far more likely to injure a possum than the reverse, and adult possums and cats generally leave each other alone.
Contrary to a widespread belief, possums almost never carry rabies. Their body temperature is too low for the virus to survive. They can, however, carry parasites like fleas, ticks, and mites, which spread to pets. They’re also potential carriers of leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, and other infections transmitted through droppings or contaminated water. This is the real reason to keep them away from living spaces: not because they’ll attack, but because their droppings and parasites create health risks over time, especially in enclosed areas like crawl spaces and attics where waste accumulates.
On the positive side, possums eat thousands of ticks per season and consume venomous snakes, slugs, and rodents. If a possum is just passing through your yard and not denning under your house, it may be doing you more good than harm.