If you’re hearing scratching, thumping, or scampering overhead at night, there’s a good chance an opossum has moved into your attic. Opossums are nocturnal, so the noises will be loudest after dark as the animal leaves to forage and returns before dawn. The good news: they’re not as destructive as raccoons and rarely carry rabies. The bad news: they leave behind contaminated droppings, tear up insulation, and can chew through wiring if left unchecked.
How to Confirm It’s an Opossum
Several animals use attics as shelter, so narrowing down the species matters before you decide on a removal strategy. Opossums produce a distinctive set of clues that separate them from rats, squirrels, and raccoons.
The sounds are the first giveaway. You’ll hear heavy thumping and scratching, noticeably louder than what a squirrel or rat would produce but not quite as loud as a raccoon. Opossums also vocalize: hissing, grunting, clicking, and screeching. If you step outside at night and hear those same sounds in your yard, the animal is likely traveling between your attic and a food source.
Droppings are the second indicator. Opossum feces are cylindrical, about one to two inches long, smooth on the sides, and curled at the ends. Older droppings develop a white or yellowish mold. You’ll also notice a strong musky odor from scent glands the animal uses to mark territory, layered with the smell of urine and feces. That smell alone drives many homeowners to investigate their attic for the first time.
If you can safely look into the attic space, check corners, rafters, and other tucked-away spots for a nest made of leaves, grass, shredded paper, or insulation. You may also see torn insulation and gnawed wood or wiring near the entry point.
When Opossums Are Most Likely to Move In
Opossum breeding season runs from as early as December through October, with most young born between February and June. A female opossum carries her babies in a pouch for about two and a half months. After that, the young ride on her back while she forages. They’re fully independent at four and a half to five months old, when they’re roughly seven to nine inches long (not counting the tail).
This matters for removal timing. If you trap or exclude a mother between February and June, there may be joeys still in the attic or in her pouch that cannot survive on their own. Females carrying young also forage earlier in the evening and later in the morning, making them more visible around your property. If you see a large opossum regularly entering and exiting your roofline during these months, assume babies are involved and plan accordingly.
Health Risks of an Opossum in Your Attic
Opossums are one of the lowest-risk wild mammals when it comes to rabies. Their body temperature runs between 94 and 97°F, cooler than most mammals, and the rabies virus doesn’t survive well at those temperatures. That said, they carry other concerns.
Their droppings and urine can transmit leptospirosis, salmonella, toxoplasmosis, and coccidiosis to both people and pets. More serious diseases like tularemia and flea-borne typhus become a risk when the opossum is heavily infested with fleas, ticks, mites, or lice. Opossums are common hosts for cat and dog fleas, especially in urban areas. Those parasites don’t stay in the attic; they migrate into living spaces, carpets, and pet bedding. Even after the opossum is gone, a flea infestation can linger for weeks if untreated.
How to Get an Opossum Out
The basic approach has three steps: find the entry point, remove the animal, then seal the opening. Skipping any step means the problem returns, either with the same opossum or a new one.
Finding the Entry Point
Opossums typically enter through soffit vents, gaps where the roofline meets the fascia, open crawlspace vents, or damaged sections of the roof edge. They need an opening of about four inches or larger. Inspect the exterior of your home at dusk and watch for the animal leaving. Look for greasy smudge marks, fur, or scratching around the opening.
Trapping and Removal
A standard cage trap for opossums measures roughly 32 by 10 by 13 inches. Place it near the entry point or along the path the animal uses inside the attic. Opossums are opportunistic eaters, so effective baits include canned cat food, fish, fruit, or marshmallows. Check the trap at least once every 12 hours to avoid leaving the animal confined in heat or cold.
An alternative to trapping is a one-way exclusion door installed over the entry point. The opossum leaves to forage at night, the door lets it out but not back in. This works well for a single adult, but if young are present, they may be left behind inside, so it’s not ideal during breeding season.
Legal Considerations
Wildlife laws vary by state and sometimes by county. In many states, you can trap an opossum on your own property without a permit when it’s causing property damage. However, relocation is widely discouraged or outright prohibited by wildlife agencies. Relocated animals often starve because they don’t know where to find food in unfamiliar territory, and moving them can spread disease to local populations. Most agencies recommend euthanasia for trapped nuisance wildlife, which can be handled by a local animal control office or a licensed wildlife removal company. Check your state’s wildlife agency website before setting a trap to confirm what’s legal in your area.
Sealing Your Attic Against Reentry
Once the opossum is out, closing the entry point is the most important step. If you skip this, another opossum, raccoon, or squirrel will find the same opening, sometimes within days.
Half-inch galvanized hardware cloth is the standard material for covering attic vents, soffit openings, and gaps in the roofline. It’s strong enough that opossums can’t tear through it and flexible enough to shape around corners and irregular openings. For larger openings or areas where the animal could apply force, use vinyl-coated welded wire mesh in a one-by-one-inch size, which is even more durable and rust-resistant. Attach screening to framing or blocking with screws every 12 inches; staples alone won’t hold against a determined animal.
For holes in wood or siding, galvanized sheet metal screwed into place is the most resistant option. Expanding foam alone won’t stop an opossum. It’s useful for air-sealing small cracks after you’ve installed a solid barrier, but an animal can chew through foam in minutes. Cover soffit vents with sturdy vent covers mechanically fastened to framing, and add hardware cloth behind any vent with openings large enough for an animal to push through.
Cleaning Up After the Opossum
The contamination left behind is often worse than the animal itself. Opossum urine soaks into insulation and wood, creating a persistent odor and a breeding ground for bacteria. Droppings carry disease-causing organisms that can become airborne as they dry and break apart.
For a small amount of droppings on accessible surfaces, you can handle cleanup yourself. Wear a respirator (not a dust mask), gloves, and eye protection. Mist the droppings with water or a disinfectant spray before picking them up to reduce airborne particles. Bag everything in heavy-duty trash bags and dispose of them in your outdoor waste.
For heavier contamination, where insulation is soaked with urine or matted with feces, a professional attic cleanup is worth the cost. The process typically involves removing all contaminated insulation (loose-fill is vacuumed out with industrial equipment, batt insulation is bagged by hand), then spraying or fogging the exposed attic floor with a disinfectant and virucide to kill bacteria and neutralize odor. After sanitizing, the attic floor is air-sealed with expanding foam to isolate the attic from the living space below, and new insulation is installed.
What Professional Removal Costs
Professional opossum removal runs between $150 and $350 for a single animal. A catch-pole removal, where the technician physically captures and removes the opossum in one visit, falls on the lower end around $150. Trapping that requires multiple visits costs more: expect $150 to $350 for two visits, or $200 to $450 for three. If an entire family has set up in your attic, total removal can reach $500 to $600.
Most companies charge a flat rate of $100 to $250 that covers the initial inspection and removal of one animal, then $50 to $100 for each additional opossum. Attic cleaning after the animal is gone runs $150 to $1,000 depending on the extent of contamination and how much insulation needs replacing. Sealing entry points is a separate cost, typically in the $300 to $400 range if you hire a handyperson, though wildlife removal companies often bundle it into a package deal.
If you’re getting quotes, ask whether the price includes sealing entry points and a warranty against reentry. A company that traps the animal but doesn’t seal your attic is solving only half the problem.