Produce loud noises Possums are shy animals, and they will usually avoid areas with a lot of noise. You can make noise by playing music, banging on pots and pans, or using a loud air horn.
Play Loud Sounds
Make sure that these noises do not disturb everyone else in the household too. The neighbors may complain too if the sounds are too loud. Possums hate the sounds of predator animals, such as grunting, hissing or screeching. Those may be the best sounds to use to scare them away.
Hang Wind Chimes or Place A Radio Outside
Unusual noises will scare opossums off, especially when they're unsure of the source.
What smell does a possum hate? Possums dislike the smell of pepper, ammonia, garlic and naphthalene.
Place camphor blocks OR mothballs in the roof space, particularly around the area where the nest site was. DON”T place both! Possums really dislike these smells, and will be reluctant to return.
Possums are repelled by the stench of garlic, ammonia and mothballs. So go ahead and scatter those around where you think possums might hang out.
Garlic – The scent and taste of garlic is sometimes successful in repelling opossums. You can either place crushed garlic cloves around your yard or mix minced garlic and water, add it to a spray bottle, and spray it on surfaces where opossums are active.
In addition to ammonia and mothballs, possums will also steer clear of odors of vinegar, garlic, onion, peppermint, and camphor. These strong scents are often used as natural repellents to keep opossums away from gardens, trash cans, and other areas where they may be unwanted.
The Species Has Its Weaknesses
Dining on roadkill, one of its many food sources, shortens an opossum's lifespan considerably. So does the cold.
Brushtail possums can hear sounds in the range 20 to 35 kHz. In theory, the sounds can cause fear and minor discomfort but while some tests promoted by the equipment suppliers have shown positive results, the vast majority of tests on possums and other animals confirm the devices are ineffective.
They found that possums' hearing was relatively sensitive at frequencies between 330 Hz and 39 kHz, with the greatest sensitivity occurring between 17 and 19 kHz.
works best against Possums is 15 to 19 Khz. Most people will not hear these sounds, however some people with good high frequency hearing (mostly the young) can hear them and don't always like it, hence the 30 day guarantee.
Carbon dioxide gas is the most appropriate technique to euthanize opossums. Opossums also can be humanely killed with a gunshot to the head, if legal and safe in your area.
Aggressive behavior by an opossum is usually in response to a situation where they feel threatened. They may hiss, screech, or bare their teeth to ward off an attack.
Main predators include dogs, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, large hawks, and great horned owls. The chance of rabies in opossums is extremely rare. When frightened, opossums bare their 50 sharp teeth and hiss or growl. However, they would rather avoid confrontation and be left alone.
Opossum are not aggressive: their open-mouth, defensive hissing is merely a bluff to look vicious. And if that doesn't work they play dead when really scared! If there is an opossum in the backyard, don't worry. They aren't a threat, and more than likely they will be moving on in a short while.
“Opossums are shy, harmless animals who are the size of an average housecat,” says Lynsey White, director of humane wildlife conflict resolution for The Humane Society of the United States. “They do not pose any danger to people or pets and [they] want to avoid [us] if they can.”
Brushtail possums are nocturnal, so they generally look for food between dusk and dawn. Possums are territorial and urinate and excrete body oils to mark their territories. They are not always aggressive and will often just stare at each other with erect ears when defending their territories.
Since possums are nocturnal and prefer to move around under the cover of darkness, these lights are a great way to deter them from your property. One way you can do this is to set up the lights on your roof. This way if a possum jumps onto the roof and triggers the light it will quickly flee.
Vicks can be used for a home-made remedy. Mix equal quantities of Vaseline and Vicks VapoRub on a plastic container. Use a knife to spread the mixture along any known possum routes eg along fences. Spotlights trained onto trees can often be effective in reducing possum attacks.
Do not feed possums almonds, cheese, onions, dairy products, green potatoes or junk food. Put food in containers in high, sheltered areas. Spread the food throughout the enclosure to promote natural foraging. Possums need fresh water daily.
Possums like to sleep in the dark, so placing a light in the roof cavity and keeping it switched on for several days and nights may stop them from returning. There are also motion activated ultrasonic devices available that are triggered once a possum crosses the sensor, which may frighten possums away.
Trying to simply scare it may not be a solution. The best thing to do are to use measures that will not enable it to use its primary defense technique. One of the best of these is to simply spray it with your garden hose.