Opossum Trapping - How To Trap

Need opossum removal in your hometown? We service over 500 USA locations! Click here to hire us in your town and check prices - updated for year 2020.

How To Trap A Possum
The Opossum is an animal that is generally solitary and quite transient, so there are many people who will usually find that the animal will move along of its own accord. There are however situations in which an Opossum may return to the same area, or even take up residence in an urban area. Dealing with the Opossum can often be quite a quandary, as there are very strict regulations about trapping and releasing the animals in many states. This means that the majority of trapping will be carried out by licensed professionals, although it is not as difficult as many people might imagine.

The Best Trap To Catch An Opossum
The Opossum is quite a large animal when compared with other pests that are trap, and for this reason most people will prefer to use a live trap in case they catch a domestic animal. Choosing the right size will be quite important, as you don’t want to give the Opossum too much room to move, but also it shouldn’t be too constricting. Opossums are not particularly clever animals so a simple trap which closes as they wander in to eat the bait will usually be enough to trap the offending animal.

Read more about What Bait To Use For Opossum Traps here.



Although they are generally transient and solitary animals, it is possible for some family groups to stay in one place, and this is especially relevant for mothers and their young. This is particularly worth bearing in mind between February and June when the majority of babies are likely to be born. Trapping the parent will often leave the young to starve, and if they have moved in to a space beneath decking or into another space beneath the house then this can be a problem when the young die, which can attract other pests and cause a bad odor. This is something that most professionals will bear in mind when they are trapping and removing opossums.

Choosing Bait To Catch An Opossum
One of the problems that many people will have with an opossum is that it will scavenge through their garbage for food. This does mean that baiting a trap for an opossum is not difficult, as they will eat almost anything. Cat food and dog food are often used, but this can be a problem for those who have cats or dogs that could get caught in the trap. Other people have reported success using peanut butter, sardines and even eggs as bait.

Locating Your Trap
Choosing the location for a trap will usually depend on whether or not the animal is visiting the garden regularly or whether it has actually taken up residence in a makeshift burrow on your property. The most important thing is to get the trap somewhere that it will be noticed by the opossum, and their natural curiosity will do the rest. Near the exit to a burrow will be a fine choice for those on the property, and near the fence that the opossum gets through to get in the garden will also be a good location for the visiting opossum.

Handling And Removing An Opossum
It is best to avoid handling an opossum, as they can carry diseases which can be transmitted to humans. It is a wise precaution to wear thick gloves when moving the cage, as the opossum is likely to scratch and bite when you come near.

Removing the opossum will usually be the toughest part of the job, as many states will insist the animal cannot be trapped, or that it must be taken to an official facility. In states where there are no regulations, it is best to release the animal away from any urban areas and at least ten miles away from your property.

More in-detail how-to possum removal articles:

Information about how to kill a opossum - with poison or other methods.
Information about how to keep opossums away - prevention techniques.
Information about how to catch a opossum - remove one stuck in the house.
Information about opossum repellent - analysis of types and effectiveness.

This site is intended to provide opossum education about how to trap a opossum in your house or property and and information about opossum trapping, so that you can make an informed decision if you need to deal with a opossum problem. This site provides many opossum control articles and strategies, if you wish to attempt to solve the problem yourself. If you are unable to do so, which is likely with many cases of opossum removal, please go to the home page and click the USA map, where I have wildlife removal experts listed in over 500 cites and towns, who can properly help you with your nuisance opossum.

Click here to read more about how to get rid of opossums.