There are times you wonder why your backyard seems to be the favorite place for wild animals to forage: from raccoons to squirrels, possums, and the likes.
They seem to always lurk around your deck and backyard. The truth is that You are not alone. Many people are faced with the same issue.
Possums are some of these animals that can constitute a nuisance to you and your home; they can climb your fence, dig holes into your yard, forage on your garbage and eat anything they can find.
Let us tell you more about possums are how you can keep them away from your backyard.
Can Possums Climb a Wall?
Possums are great at climbing walls and fences, not because they have any special adaptation for climbing. Still, when they are vigorously searching for food or trying to escape a predator or any danger, they can climb, run, and jump very fast.
Possums can climb most types of walls, including fences and concrete walls, but unlike other animals who find it difficult to climb smooth walls, possums can do so with lots of ease.
Read Also: Can Foxes Jump Over Fences?
What Does a Possum Look Like?
Possums can be distinguished from other wild animals that easily find their way into your backyard because of their facial structure, which is long and pointed. The fully grown one can weigh about 14 pounds.
They have a very long tail that makes up about half of their body length; these tails look like a rat. Possums have very strong feet and toes that are useful in climbing walls.
They are omnivorous animals which means they can feel on a wide variety of plants and animals. They are also nocturnal animals closely related to the kangaroos, and they have outside porches for carrying their young like the kangaroo.
What Attracts Possums to a Yard?
Possums, like all animals, love places where there is a lot of food around, like garbage that emits odors, overflowing, and containing food scraps. They are also scavengers and can forage on anything they find. They also live around ponds, drainage ditches, and sewers.
If you have a lot of insects, birds, frogs, crustaceans, rodents, snakes, mushrooms, fruits, dead animals, nuts, berries, and the likes, then you are sending an invitation to possums to invade your yard.
Possums are not choosy, but they will always prefer foods rich in calcium, which is why they eat mostly the skeletal remains of rodents.
The smell of cinnamon is attractive to possums; yams, marshmallows, peanut butter, and sweet potatoes are also foods with a sweet taste and aroma that possums will always go out for if they find it in your backyard.
Are Possums Bad to Have Around Your House
Many people are not only scared of possums because they are wild animals and might be aggressive and attack them, but also because they see them as dirty animals that are nasty.
The reality is that possums are clean and calm animals and will never attack anyone; instead, they will hide from you or play dead.
So, apart from rummaging in your garbage and eating your foods, possums are beneficial to have around. Below are some of the benefits that possums can render to you and your yard:
1. They feed on snakes, even the poisonous ones because they have immunity against snake venom. The peptide that possums possess is a good source of anti-venom for treating snake bites. So don’t be in a hurry to get rid of the possums around your yard because they can help you take care of those snakes in your backyard.
2. Possum’s feed on ticks that are found around your yard. Research has it that a possum can feed on about 50,000 ticks in a season, and these ticks are the number one cause of Lyme disease. So indirectly, possums can save your yard pets from Lyme disease.
3. Because possums feed on many pests like insects, roaches, rodents, and the likes that carry pathogens that cause disease; hence possums can be used as a biological means of taking care of these harmful pests in your garden.
What Will Keep Possums Away
The best thing that will keep possums out of your yard is the smell of the urine of their predators. Fox, coyote, and wolves are predators of possums, and these predators always mark their territories with their urine, hence any place that possums perceive the urine of these animals, they keep away from such places.
Most companies that make repellents against possums make them have the odor of these predators’ urine to scare them from such places. These repellents have a high amount of ammonia that smells too much that you might not want to use it in your yard.
Other materials that will repel possums from your yard are Pepper sprays sprayed on your garbage and plants. These sprays have a bad taste and create a burning sensation when the possums eat them.
How To Keep Possums Away from Your House?
There are several ways you can deal with possum infestation in your yard, depending on the acceptable methods in your locality. Some of the means of taking care of possums include:
1. Shooting of possums: This is a drastic way of ridding your yard of possums; many states ban shooting possums because it is inhumane to get rid of them. Before you attempt shooting the possums you find in your yard, check with your local authority for what is acceptable.
If you get the clearance to shoot possums, all you need do is to flash a very bright torch on the possum; they are nocturnal, will be dazed by the light, and will freeze for a while, which will give you a good opportunity to take a shot.
2. A more human way of taking of possums is to fence your yard properly, ensuring no holes from which they can get into your yard. You can reinforce the fence and use an electric wire at the force’s top to keep the possums away.
3. Traps: there are humane traps that can be used in catching the possums around your backyard, these traps are not only effective, but it works in such a way that the possums do not get harmed in any way. These traps, which you can find in stores, can be baited and kept in places where you suspect possums always come. When they get caught in the trap, you can carry the possum and release it in the wild. You, however, must ensure that your beloved pet does not get caught in this trap.
4. Deadly traps: Other traps will lead to possum mortality which you can use in taking care of the possums that invade your yard. These traps can be placed in tree trunks, burrows, and places that possums can make their den. This trap can be baited with meat, fruit, fish, or other such foods that possums like. However, this is a drastic measure to take and should only be used when there is an invasion of possums.
Repellents. Possums can be scared off using chemical repellents or naphthalene as well as household ammonia. However, naphthalene, ammonia use is prohibited in most states, as their vapors are poisonous and can penetrate the building and even poison the soil if they get into it. But fortunately, there are many repellents on the market that are safe for you and your pets.
5. Use of repellents: Naphthalene and Ammonia are two chemical compounds that are repulsive to possums and so can serve as a means of repelling them from your backyard. Other such repellents will scare possums out of your space, but before you use any repellent to take care of your possum problem, check with the authorities concerned to ensure they are legal for use in your area.
Read Also: Why are Horseshoe Crabs Important to Humans
Do Possums Dig Holes Under Your House?
Possums do not dig holes under your house, but they can live in any hole they see or a burrow that an animal like chipmunks, moles, and rats left, and they quickly make it their den.
However, possums can search out places around your home where they can hide, like the porches or stairs, which they can stay temporarily until they can find a good hole they can stay.
You can also keep possums from making any part of your house their den by covering any hole or burrows around your backyard.
Are Possums Aggressive
Many people believe that since possums are wild animals, they must be aggressive. Still, in the real sense, possums are very calm and unaggressive animals that will not attack anyone or anything except if it is their prey.
It is common for possums to play dead or faint if they feel threatened and will rarely attack or growl if it sights a human. Only on very rare occasions will it bite someone if it is cornered and must fight or, should I say, ‘bite for their lives.
What Does a Possum Poop Look Like?
Possum’s poop is about 2 inches long and quite smooth in texture. They are usually dark in color and could have a yellow or whitish on the outside.
The poop of a possum looks a lot like that of a dog or cat, but its shape or size is affected by the food it eats. They usually defecate around bushes or the trail that they use.
Where Do Possums Hide During the Day
Since possums are nocturnal animals, they are usually inactive during the day, and hence they stay in burrows or holes, tree trunks and bushes, rock crevices and under bush piles, and pretty o they can hide away from predators and man.
If food is scarce, possums will leave their burrows searching for food, and they will spend I in their search. This is mostly during winter when you find them foraging during the day.
Conclusion: Can Possums Climb a Wall
Possums are all around us, and they have a way of getting into our backyards and even making it their den.
While they are not aggressive, they can constitute a nuisance to us and our garden that you will want to get rid of them. You can use simple ways to get rid of these possums in your backyard.
You May Also Like:
- Can I Shoot a Possum in My Backyard
- How Far Can Raccoons Jump
- What Sorts of Food Does Backyard Lizard Eat?
- Can You Eat Squirrel From Your Backyard
- Do Skunks Climb Trees or Fences?
We trust this article helped you know if Possums Climb a Wall or Fence. You may also want to check out if Skunks can Climb or Jump.
Thanks for taking the time to read our article, and we hope you find it helpful. Would you mind leaving a comment below if you have any suggestions?
Kindly reach out to people by sharing this post on social media.
If you liked this article, then please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
