Do you have a problem with an opossum coming around your Florida home? You are not alone. These are resilient beasts who will return over and over again once they have found a good source of food they really like. Your Florida home quickly becomes a stopover on the possum meal line, and you quickly find that they are simply not going away.

You have probably spent some time and energy doing all you can to get them to simply go away. Securing your garbage cans better, removing sources of food, and putting out repellants are just a few of the things you have done to try to make a difference, but you are finding that these are still not reaping the results you require. These critters just do not want to go away, and it seems that there is nothing you can do to overcome them.



If you are in this kind of situation, then trying to get them to leave you alone may not be the key. The solution may be to trap these critters so they can be taken somewhere else and released, never to return to your Naples home. This may be the only clear solution.

Now that you know what the solution is, the next step is to implement it. Putting up a trap sounds like a great idea but you don’t have the smallest idea of where to begin. Here is what you need to do to get started.

Your first step is to determine how many possums you are likely going to have to catch. If you have a single one coming to your home then this makes your job a lot simpler, however, if you have a mom and her babies your work is about to get a lot more challenging. You also want to be clear that you are trying to catch a possum. If you set up your traps to catch a possum and a squirrel or a dog is the culprit you are not going to have successful results.

Your next step is to actually set up your trap. Now you can either go out and buy a trap, which is recommended, or you can build your own. The problem with building your own is that it leaves too many variables, and some of those variables can get your hurt. You are better off paying for something that you know will have much more positive results in Naples. You need a cage that is at least 32 x 10 x 12 inches. Just so you know, you want to make sure that your state allows you to trap opossums before proceeding. Even if your motives are pure, if you are caught trapping a possum in a state where it is illegal to do so you can find yourself in a spot.

Your next step is to find the right location to position your trap. What you are ideally looking for is the most likely location where the possum will return. Your attic, near your garbage can, under you home, near your garden or near the shed are just a few of the places you may have found the opossum has frequently visited. If this is the case then this is where your trap should go. You want to make sure that you set the trap in a spot that is not directly in the Florida sun. The possum is a lot less likely to go for the trap if it is warm.

Next you want to put the proper bait in your trap. Florida Possums are true omnivores, meaning they will eat anything they can get their mouth on, but they do have treats they like better than others. They are more likely to go after something that smells like meat, so meatballs can be an ideal lure. You can also try such things as marshmallows or fruit. They love those as well.

Lastly, you want to make sure that you frequently visit the trap once it is set up. While the trap is made to be secure, the longer you leave the possum in the trap the more chance it has to escape. Check four or five times a day so that you can see if you have had success.

Once you have had success, the next step is to find a place to dispose of the critter. Be sure to wear heavy duty gloves when handling the animal, and seek the assistance of Naples animal control before taking it anywhere. You may find that the Naples animal control will even take the opossum off your hands. If this is an area where they are attempting to protect the critters, you can be sure that they will assist you in putting them someplace where they can be safe. It is worth a shot to ask no matter what.

To learn more about our services, visit the Naples wildlife removal home page.