Opossum Facts & Information

How to Prevent Opossums

The most effective way to manage opossums is to make your home less inviting in the first place. Here's how:

Remove Food Sources

• Secure garbage cans with tight-fitting, animal-proof lids

• Bring pet food and water bowls indoors before dark

• Pick up fallen fruit from trees promptly

• Clean grills after each use and store them covered

• Use sealed, animal-proof containers for compost

Eliminate Shelter Opportunities

• Clear brush piles, leaf accumulations, and wood piles away from the home's foundation

• Trim tree branches that hang within 10 feet of the roofline, as opossums are strong climbers and can leap between branches and structures

• Seal gaps in siding, foundations, and vents with steel mesh or hardware cloth

• Install exclusion barriers under decks and porches using buried wire mesh or sheet metal

Reduce Access to Water

• Fix dripping outdoor faucets and leaking irrigation lines

• Eliminate standing water in gutters, low-lying areas, or containers

• Keep gutters clean and properly draining

What Orkin Does to Get Rid of Opossums

Orkin Pros are trained to help manage opossums and other pests. Since every yard or home is different, our Orkin Pro will design a unique wildlife management program for your situation.

Keeping opossums out of your home is an ongoing process, not a one-time treatment. Orkin can provide the right solution to keep opossums in their place...out of your home. Schedule a free wildlife control inspection to see how Orkin can help.

What do opossums look like?

The Virginia opossum is roughly the size of a large house cat. Key identifying features include:

• Size: 21–36 inches in total length (including tail); 4–15 lbs.

• Fur: Coarse, grayish-white coat with a distinctly white face

• Snout: Long and pointed

• Eyes: Dark, round, and reflective at night

• Ears: Hairless and rounded

• Tail: Long, hairless, and prehensile; used for gripping and balance

• Feet: Opposable thumbs on each hind foot, which aid in climbing

• Teeth: 50 teeth—more than any other North American mammal

The prehensile tail is often mistaken for a rat's tail, but opossums use it to grasp branches and stabilize themselves while climbing. Young opossums can hang by their tails briefly, though adults are too heavy to do so for long.

What do opossums eat?

Opossums aren't picky eaters. Not even a little. These true omnivores will eat just about anything they come across, from fruits, berries, and insects to carrion, small rodents, and yes, your pet's food bowl if you leave it outside. They'll even chew on bones for the calcium. Opossums are immune to the venom of many North American snakes, including copperheads and rattlesnakes, which means they can take down prey that most other animals wouldn't dare touch. It's one of the reasons they survive and thrive so well around human neighborhoods.

How long do opossums live?

Opossums live life in the fast lane. They're born after just 13 days in the womb (one of the shortest gestation periods of any North American mammal), and they're fully independent by the time they're 5 months old. In between? A whole lot of growing up to do.

At birth, each joey is smaller than a honey bee, weighing a mere 0.13 grams. Twenty of them could fit inside a teaspoon. Despite their minuscule size, they must crawl unaided to their mother's pouch within seconds of birth. No GPS, no assistance, just pure instinct. Once in the pouch, only joeys that successfully latch onto one of the mother's 13 nipples will survive.

After about 2.5 months developing in the pouch, young opossums venture out into the world. They'll often hitch a ride on their mother's back before eventually striking out on their own at around 4.5–5 months old. Breeding season runs from January through October, with females producing 1–3 litters per year.

But here's the catch: opossums don't get to enjoy their hard-won independence for long. Their lifespan in the wild is just 1–2 years, making them one of the shortest-lived mammals of their size. They live fast, reproduce often, and leave behind a new generation ready to do it all over again.

What are the signs of opossums around your home?

Opossums aren't exactly subtle houseguests. If one has decided to make your property its personal buffet or vacation home, it's usually not too hard to tell. Here's what to look out for:

• Nighttime sightings in the yard, especially near trash cans or the compost bin

• Disturbed garbage with characteristic five-toed tracks nearby

• Scratching or thumping sounds in the attic or under the floor at night

• Foul musky odor emanating from enclosed spaces like crawl spaces or wall voids

• Damaged gardens with half-eaten fruits or vegetables

• Droppings near entry points, under decks, or in attic spaces

• Torn insulation or ductwork discovered during an inspection