Opossum Removal
An opossum under the deck, in the garage or beneath a pier-and-beam house is usually a slow, quiet animal looking for a dry place to sleep. Cypress Critters & Pests catches it alive in a cage trap, takes it off the property, and closes the space with buried mesh or new skirting so another one cannot move in. Michael Gerbino does the work himself in Cypress, Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands, Klein and Houston. Call Michael at 713-775-8799.
How do you know an opossum is living under the house?
Opossums are not loud and they do not tear into roofs the way raccoons do. Most people find one by accident: the dog goes wild at the deck at night, or the garage light comes on and there is a gray animal with a white face and a bare tail staring back. Here is what to look for.
| Where | What you find | When |
|---|---|---|
| Under a deck or porch | A worn path or a gap in the lattice where dirt is packed flat | Comings and goings after dark |
| Garage | Pet food or bird seed gone, a nest of rags or leaves in a back corner | Usually found in the morning |
| Pier-and-beam crawl space | Torn or pushed-in skirting, a musky smell near the vents | Smell stronger on warm, damp days |
| Yard and trash | Cans tipped, fallen fruit eaten, compost dug through | Overnight |
| Shed or under a slab edge | An opening at ground level with leaves dragged inside | Any time of year |
An opossum that is cornered will open its mouth, hiss and show a lot of teeth. It looks worse than it is. Leave it alone, keep pets inside, and let Michael deal with it.
Is it an opossum or rats in the attic?
People mix these up more than you would think. Opossums can climb, and now and then one gets into an attic through a torn soffit, but they mostly live low and stay quiet. If you are hearing quick, light scratching overhead in the middle of the night, that is far more often roof rats, which are covered on the rat and mouse control page. Heavy thumping on the roof after dark points to a raccoon. And if the animal under the house leaves a smell that makes your eyes water, it is a skunk, not an opossum. Getting the animal right decides how the job is done, so Michael looks at the tracks, droppings and openings before he sets a single trap.
How do opossums get under houses around here?
- Deck and porch lattice. Thin wood or plastic lattice breaks or pulls loose at the bottom, and an opossum walks right under.
- Pier-and-beam skirting. Older houses with a crawl space often have skirting that has rotted, warped or come away from the ground. Any gap a few inches high is enough.
- Crawl-space vents. A missing or rusted vent screen leaves an open door at ground level.
- Garage doors. A worn bottom seal or a door left up overnight lets them in, and pet food keeps them coming back.
- Shed floors and slab edges. Soil washes out under the edge of a shed or a slab after heavy rain, and the hollow it leaves becomes a den.
Why does trapping alone not keep opossums away?
A dry, dark space under a deck is valuable to every animal in the neighborhood. Take one opossum out and leave the gap open, and another one, or a skunk, or a family of rats, moves into the same spot. The fix is closing that space off so nothing can get under it again. For opossums that usually means wire mesh buried along the edge of the deck or skirting so they cannot dig beneath it, the same approach described on the animal exclusion and live trapping page. Trap first, then seal it shut.
How Michael handles it
- Inspect. He walks the foundation, deck, skirting, garage and shed to find where the animal goes in and confirm it is an opossum.
- Trap alive. A cage trap is set on the path it uses and checked often. Opossums move slowly and are easy to catch alive.
- Remove. The opossum is removed alive and handled following Texas Parks and Wildlife rules.
- Make sure the space is empty. In spring a mother may be carrying young, and Michael checks that nothing is left behind before he closes it.
- Seal. Gaps under decks, sheds and skirting get galvanized mesh with an L-shaped footer buried in the soil, and broken crawl-space vents get metal screens.
Opossums tend to show up where other animals do. If you also see signs of squirrels at the roofline, read the squirrel removal page. If an animal has died under the house and you are dealing with the smell, see dead animal removal. Everything Michael handles is listed under wild animal control services.
Call Michael at 713-775-8799 if something is living under your deck or house.
Where Michael does this work
Pages for opossum work in each town Michael serves:
- Opossum removal in Cypress
- Opossum removal in Spring
- Opossum removal in Tomball
- Opossum removal in The Woodlands
- Wildlife work in Klein
- Opossum removal in Houston
What decides the quote?
Michael gives you a number after he has seen the place. What moves it: how many openings there are around the deck, shed or foundation, how long the run of skirting or deck edge is that needs buried mesh, whether crawl-space vents need new screens, and whether more than one animal is living there. Call 713-775-8799 or use the contact page, and he will tell you straight what the job takes.
More answers from Michael
Questions people ask about opossum removal
Is an opossum under my deck dangerous to my family?
Opossums are mostly shy and slow, and they would rather hide or play dead than fight. A cornered one will hiss and show its teeth, so do not reach for it or let a dog corner it. The real trouble is the mess and smell they leave and the open space they hold for the next animal. Michael removes it and closes the space.
Why does the opossum keep coming back to my garage?
Because something keeps paying off: pet food, bird seed, trash or a warm corner to sleep in. Opossums remember an easy meal. Bring food in at night, keep the garage door down, and fix a worn bottom seal. If one has already moved in, Michael traps it alive and points out how it is getting in.
Is the opossum dead or just playing dead?
An opossum that is badly frightened can go limp, lie on its side and stay still for a long time. It may look and even smell dead. Leave it alone and keep pets away, and it will usually get up and wander off once things are quiet. If it is still there hours later, call Michael to check.
How do you keep opossums from digging back under the deck?
Michael runs galvanized wire mesh down from the deck or skirting edge and bends it outward in an L under the soil. An animal that tries to dig at the edge hits the buried mesh and gives up. It is the same method that keeps skunks out, and it works on sheds and porches as well as decks.
Could the noise in my attic be an opossum?
It can be, but it usually is not. Opossums can climb and sometimes get into an attic through a torn soffit, yet most live under decks, sheds and houses. Fast, light scratching overhead at night is much more often roof rats, and heavy steps on the roof point to a raccoon. Michael confirms the animal before setting traps.
What if the opossum has babies with her?
A mother opossum carries her young with her, first in a pouch and later on her back, so they usually leave with her. Michael still checks the space before sealing it in spring and early summer, because a young one left behind will die under the house and leave a smell. He closes it only once it is empty.
Contact Us Anytime
Michael handles raccoons, opossums, squirrels, rats and snakes day or night. He inspects the whole house to find every way in, catches the animals alive, and seals the openings so they cannot come back. He also repairs the damage they leave behind.
Call or Text Michael
(713) 775-8799
Cypress Critters & Pests
Cypress Critters & Pests is owner-operated by Michael Gerbino: humane wildlife exclusion, live trapping and pest control around Cypress, Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands, Klein and Houston.
