Posted by david hildebrandt on December 30, 2005

Q: i just discovered a possium under our house. how do i safely get rid of the possium.

Habitat: suburban/yard

State: California

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: Having Opossums in an outbuilding or even under ones house is not unusual - they're often found in close association with humans. Opossums tend to remain hidden during daylight and then come out at night to forage. There are a couple of possibilities I can think of to help you with your unwanted animal.

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If there is an obvious entrance/exit area under your home that your Opossum is using, wait until well after dark (when it's not there) then block it so it can't return. Also, you may be able to buy or borrow a Have-A-Heart trap and capture your animal. Once captured, be sure you remove it a good distance (miles) before releasing. A third approach would be to call an animal nuisance outfit in your area and see if they can come out and remove the Opossum.

Opossums are not aggressive nor do you need to worry about disease so having it beneath your house really isn't dangerous. I can certainly understand why you don't want it there but it won't hurt your family nor your pets. Best of luck.

John Wiessinger ( December 30, 2005)