Q&A for How to Deter Possums from Your Garden

Yes, it could easily find its way back, especially if there is a good source of food around!

It's possible, but not likely.

Yes. Bright lights can deter possums.

I have found that putting bricks or large stones around the bases of my succulents has helped to keep them from digging them out.

Lavender, daphne, and hellebore have survived in my garden. Maybe camellias too.

Yes, they do. Possums basically eat any fruit or vegetable they can find. They don't eat it on the vine, but they have techniques of getting the tomato off the vine.

Possums are nocturnal, which means they only come out at night and sleep during the day. Even though they can be territorial, your pets should be fine because they will most likely sleep during the night and come out during the day.

Eliminate the food source. If you've got opossums in your yard, chances are you did something to lure them there. Eliminate food and shelter, and you eliminate the animals.

They probably don't pick them up and carry them, but they will knock them over and dig out the dirt and plants. I have a possum that has done this several times...No potted flowers for me, I guess!

try a net? this makes it harder to get the fruit

Depending on materials, mothballs are usually toxic or carcinogenic. If ingested, it can kill your cat (since the purity of the active ingredient in mothballs is high). Even if it is not, mothballs release toxic vapor which can be harmful at a high concentration. If you use mothballs according to the label though (which requires you to use them only in a container), it won't harm your cat.

Try cleaning your garage, possums normally like to head into garages to hide and possibly make a nest, so make your garage hard to find spaces to hide in. if that doesn't work try putting food outside for them, make it a routine if possible.

That would work very well since possums hate bright lights. Also try adding motion-sensing lights to prevent neighbours complaining about constant light streaming.

Put apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle and spray around the areas they frequent. But you must do it every night.

Are you in an area that has wildlife? If so, that digging is likely to be a bandicoot. They only dig small holes, and aerate the soil, so can be seen as a benefit in the garden. To keep them out, you would need a fine mesh fence. Rabbits, dogs and cats also dig in gardens, so maybe keep an eye out for any such creatures in your yard at night.

Put lights in the crawl space with a switch downstairs. The light will drive them out. Once out, make sure all entries are closed off.

Put them in a greenhouse (or bring them inside your house) at night.

Brush-tail possums live alone, but ringtails live in a family group. It's not a huge number; usually one adult male, a few females and the previous year's juveniles.

To keep raccoons, opossums, skunks, or other critters out of your garbage, regularly spray the side of your cans with a mixture of half ammonia, and half water. They hate the smell (as we all do) and will stay away. (You can also try using an ammonia-based glass cleaner like Windex, but it's not as strong.)

Regularly spray the side of your cans with a mixture of half ammonia, and half water. They hate the smell (as we all do) and will stay away. Also, you can try Windex, but its not as strong and doesn't always have an effect. Anything sprayed has to be sprayed repeatedly, as it'll fade over a few days.

You should make some repellent (i.e. soap, water, and hot sauce) and put it on the plants and things that they like to eat. That should help.