It is illegal and inhumane to poison possums (or opossums) in most places, including Australia and the US, and no legal "homemade possum poison" exists. Using poison can lead to a slow, painful death for the animal and poses a severe risk to pets, children, and native wildlife.
Easy methods to get rid of possums include:
Possums dislike the smell of blood and bone, making it an effective deterrent when spread around the base of plants. It also nourishes the soil and promotes plant growth. A spray concocted from crushed garlic and hot chilli can provide an additional line of defence.
Use non-toxic or natural deterrents
Spray your garden with a non-toxic natural deterrent such as vinegar (or check your local hardware store for options). While hungry possums are known to ignore lots of these products, it's still worth a shot. Just make sure whatever you try won't harm the possum or your garden.
What Foods Are Poisonous to Possums?
Brodifacoum can be useful for controlling low numbers of possums and is suitable for use on private property. Also effective on rats. Pellets are dyed blue. It's a second-generation toxin with a high risk of secondary poisoning.
Possums hate strong, pungent smells (like garlic, onion, peppermint, eucalyptus, mothballs, and ammonia), sudden disturbances (like motion-activated lights or sprinklers), and perceived predator threats, finding these elements unpleasant and unsafe, so they avoid areas with these strong deterrents, though they can get used to them if not moved.
Possums come around houses seeking easy food, water, and safe shelter, drawn by unsecured trash, pet food, fallen fruit, compost, and cozy spots like roof cavities or woodpiles for warmth and protection from predators. They're opportunistic, so your yard becomes an appealing buffet and hotel, especially when natural food sources are scarce or your home offers ideal nesting.
Quassia chips (T) (Chips of bark from a South American tree): add 100 g chips to 2 litres water and heat for one hour before straining. Add one tablespoon detergent. Dilute at rate of 1 part of solution to four parts water and apply as a spray.
Although they aren't particularly finicky eaters, the best possum bait is fish or apples. Baiting opossum traps with canned pet food also works well. While there are differences of opinion as to the best bait for opossums, all professional trappers agree, the smellier the better.
In New South Wales, possums are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act. This means it is illegal to trap, harm, or relocate possums without the proper licence.
Possums are mostly herbivorous animals, which means the bulk (no pun intended) of their diet is plant-based. Australian possums eat: Leaves - Just like koalas, possums are suckers for eucalyptus leaves. If there is no eucalyptus around, they settle for other plants, such as green plum, acacia, red bush apple, and more.
Possums' strong senses of smell help them find food. You can turn this against them by placing scent-based repellents around the perimeter of your yard. Ammonia, bleach, and camphor can effectively ward them off. Natural ingredients like garlic and onions also give off a smell that opossums avoid.
Australian possums are nocturnal, meaning they become active after sunset, typically leaving their nests (like roof spaces or tree hollows) around dusk to forage for food, with activity peaking in the first half of the night before they return around dawn. You'll usually hear them start moving, scratching, or thumping around after dark, with noises often heard closer to 10 pm as they venture out.
Possums are opportunistic feeders, which means they'll keep returning to places where food is easy to find. Open garbage cans, fallen fruit in the yard, bird feeders, or leftover pet food are irresistible to them. Once they discover these resources, they often return night after night until the supply runs out.
Every now and then, an opossum will get into a house through a pet door. Encourage them to leave by closing the doors to all rooms and opening the doors to the outside. Opossums are usually not aggressive, so you may be able to help them on their way by gently nudging them with a broom.
Opossums are nocturnal animals, which means they are most active during the night. During the day, they hide in hollow logs, trees, under brush piles, in road culverts, in rock and stump crevices or under buildings, decks or porches.
In general, possums do not remain in one location for extended periods. They are transient animals, usually staying only 2-3 days in the same den site before moving on to another location. However, they may keep your yard in their rotation of den sites if it provides a suitable hiding place for them during the day.
Their food can be supplemented with small amounts of fruits and vegetables. Do not feed possums almonds, cheese, onions, dairy products, green potatoes or junk food.
Here are 10 proven ways for removing Possums from your property—and keep them gone:
Does Vicks Vaporub deter possums? Anecdotal evidence suggests this is effective in the short term, and it won't wash off if you mix it with Vaseline. Possums are known to get used to smells, though, so it might not be a long-term solution.
Primary and Secondary Poisoning
This occurs most often with possums, perhaps where a householder has put rat baits up in their roof, also frequented by the local possum. This occurred recently, where local Uki residents saw a Mountain Brushtail Possum eat the Ratsak they had put out to kill rats.
Possums are nocturnal and highly vocal — especially in urban areas where space is limited. They use sounds to: Defend their territory. Attract a mate.
You can start with these deterrents.