How to trap a possum.
How to trap possums in attic.
There are several oversized rodent traps and traps for nuisance animals on the market which can be used to confine opossums that have thrown down roots in your attic.
You can also set traps outside.
Once an opossum crawls inside the trap to take the bait the door will snap shut behind it locking it inside.
Possums or opossums are nocturnal animals that grow to be about the size of a large cat.
If you don t see it you ll have to set possum traps and again you re in luck because this is pretty much the only animal that will enter a cage trap in the attic.
The baby opossums usually cling to their mother but they drop off one by one as they grow and it s very common for small ones to rome around in the attic and fall down walls or other cavities.
Yes this does happen quite frequently see photo to left and below and this is a very complex case this almost always involves an adult female with baby possums.
Therefore to capture a possum you will need a very large cage sometimes called a raccoon cage.
If the possum is living under a shed or porch or deck then after you trap and remove it you ought to install an exclusion barrier.
If the possum is living in your attic or garage place the trap in the center of the space.
To ensure that you catch the target animal you re best off setting the trap near the entry hole the possums are using to get inside the house.
Foods such as apples fish and pet food are good for this purpose and leaving a trail of food leading to the trap can actually be successful in catching the opossum.
These traps work using a system of springs attached to the door and the bait platform.
Opossums are very easy to trap.
A cage trap is the most common way to catch an opossum and this should be placed in the attic with a small amount of bait in the trap to draw the animal in.
If the opossum is living in your attic shed or other similar structure place the trap somewhere in the center of the room.
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.
Live traps are available and should be left unset and baited for a few days to allow the opossum to become comfortable with taking food from the baited pressure plate.
The traps can be set in the attic or on the roof and either way you need to check the traps frequently so that the animal does not suffer.
You can even set the traps inside the attic if you want.
If the animal is living somewhere less accessible like underneath your porch under a crawlspace or inside a tree hollow place the trap about 3 5 feet outside the entrance.
