How do I keep opossums away from my bird feeder?

The short answer

• Opossums climb. MDC calls them well adapted for climbing, with a thumblike toe on each hind foot, so an unbaffled pole, a branch or a deck rail puts the feeder itself in reach, not just the seed on the ground.
• Take feeders in about 30 minutes before dark and put them back at first light. Opossums are primarily nocturnal, and birds do not feed in the dark, so the habit costs you nothing.
• ICWDM's feeder advice is to remove or modify feeders so food does not fall to the ground. Rake the drop zone before dark and lock up pet food, trash, compost and fallen fruit, which feed opossums more reliably than any feeder.
• Opossums stay active in winter, when MDC says raccoons are dormant. A feeder raided on a January night with nothing pried open is more likely an opossum than a raccoon.
• Moving a trapped opossum is restricted in Virginia, Ohio, California and Illinois. ICWDM lists no registered repellents and no effective frightening devices, so prevention is the practical fix.

Take the food away after dark, on the feeder and under it, and the opossum moves on. Unlike a skunk, an opossum is a climber: the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) calls it "well adapted for climbing," with a thumblike toe on each hind foot for holding small branches. So it eats the spill on the grass and, if the pole lets it, the seed in the tray. Bring the feeders in at dusk, baffle the pole, rake the ground before dark, and close the pet bowl and the trash. ICWDM's own advice for feeders is to "remove or modify bird feeders" so food does not fall to the ground.

Two answers circulate. One says leave the opossum alone: it eats thousands of ticks and cannot get rabies. The other says it is a dangerous pest. Neither holds up. The tick figure comes from a 2009 laboratory study in which five captive opossums each had 100 larval ticks placed on them. Illinois Extension reports that a 2021 study of 32 opossum carcasses from central Illinois found ticks on the animals and "no tick parts" in their gut contents. On rabies, ICWDM says opossums are "more resistant to rabies than any other mammal, though they are not immune." So the animal is not much of a threat and not much of a helper. What matters is that a fed opossum stays, and the same food pulls in raccoons, rats and mice, which is Illinois Extension's own warning.

Is it an opossum at all?#

Most people never see it, because it comes after dark. Read the morning evidence first.

ICWDM notes that opossums use openings that already exist rather than making new ones, so a pried lid or a sprung latch points to a raccoon. If you are still not sure, the flour patch and taped seed line in what is emptying my feeder at night settle it in one night.

The dusk rule#

Take the feeders in about 30 minutes before dark and put them back at first light. ICWDM calls opossums "primarily nocturnal," birds do not feed in the dark, and nothing else on this page works every night. Store the feeders in a lidded bin or the garage, not on the porch, and empty any seed tray at the same time. Fruit goes in too: MDC lists fruit in the diet, "particularly in fall and early winter," so a fruit feeder left out overnight is an invitation. Virginia's wildlife agency goes further and says to remove bird feeders when problem species have been seen around them.

If the feeder stays out: the pole#

An opossum climbs the way a raccoon does, by gripping. UC IPM notes it can hang upside down from a branch by its tail. A thin wire hook on a branch or a deck rail is a ladder to it.

1. Move the feeder to a pole in open ground. Keep it clear of fences, branches and roofs, using the distances in baffles and poles.
2. Fit a cylinder baffle, not a squirrel cone. No source we read gives an opossum's climbing or jumping limits, so build to the raccoon specification from our raccoon guide: a cylinder at least 8 in across and 24 to 36 in long, top edge above 6.5 ft. The baffle calculator handles the height for your pole.
3. Know what a weight-activated feeder does. Its ports close under far less than a 4 lb animal, so they shut while the opossum hangs on it, as the caged versus weight-activated comparison explains. It does nothing for the tray, the ground or a hook the opossum can reach.

The ground and the other food#

ICWDM's habitat list for opossums reads like a backyard checklist: pick up fallen fruit, take in outdoor pet food, cover trash bins, and keep compost in containers with locking lids. UC IPM adds food dishes for dogs and cats and vegetable gardens. The feeder is often the smallest of these.

Prices are 2026 United States big-bag benchmarks used as defaults in our seed cost calculator. Swap in your own and the ranking can change; the edible fraction and energy columns will not.

• Rake the drop zone before dark, not at dawn. The spill builds all day and the opossum comes at night. The full routine is in seed waste and mess.
• Feed hulled seed. Sunflower hearts leave little on the grass, where in-shell seed and cheap mixes leave plenty.
• Pause the low feeders. A ground feeder or a low platform tray is an opossum feeder after sunset. Put out only what the birds clear by mid-afternoon.
• Lock up the bag. A seed sack in an open garage is a second feeder. Use a lidded metal can, as set out in storing birdseed.

The same steps starve the rats and mice that work the same spill.

The den under the deck#

ICWDM says opossums do not dig their own dens. They take burrows other animals left, brush piles, rock crevices, and the spaces under houses. That makes the deck the next problem once the feeder is fixed.

Timing matters because the young travel with the mother. MDC puts the start of breeding in early February with a 12 or 13 day gestation; Connecticut's agency says early March, with young in the pouch for 60 days and independent at about 100 days. MDC says the second litter is weaned by the end of September. On those dates, our reading is that a den may hold young from about late February to late September.

1. Test whether it is in use. Humane World for Animals advises closing the opening loosely with netting, straw or other fibrous material after the mother leaves, typically two hours after dark, and checking for young before you seal anything.
2. Wait two or three nights. If the loose fill stays undisturbed, fill the hole for good.
3. Or use a one-way door. ICWDM specifies a 6 x 6 x 10 in door, propped partly open with crumpled newspaper and with a gap left so the opossum can see out.
4. Close it properly. ICWDM's spec for crawl spaces, porches and decks is 1 x 1/2 in galvanized hardware cloth, buried at least 2 in with a 12 to 18 in skirt under the soil.

What does not work#

ICWDM is blunt: "No repellents are registered for the control of opossums," and "No frightening devices are effective." Feeding the opossum its own pile of food somewhere else adds food to the yard, which is the opposite of the fix. Illinois Extension's point applies here: what feeds an opossum also feeds raccoons and rodents.

What the law allows#

Opossums are not a rabies vector species in the rules we read, so some states treat them more loosely than skunks and raccoons. Relocation is still where most people get caught.

ICWDM's summary is that laws protecting opossums "vary among states" and most have open trapping seasons. None of the fixes above needs a trap.

When to call someone#

Virginia's agency says seeing an opossum in daylight "is not a sign of rabies." Stumbling, foaming at the mouth or aggression are, and go to your local health department. A hissing, open-mouthed opossum is, in Humane World's words, "merely a bluff." ICWDM adds that an opossum that has not left within 24 hours may be sick or injured.

Where this page stops#

• Nest boxes and hens. MDC and UC IPM list birds and their eggs in the diet, and ICWDM says opossums prey on chickens and eggs. Guard boxes during nesting season.
• The Rockies and the Plains. ICWDM says opossums are absent from the Rockies and most Plains states. There, look to the other night raiders.
• Daytime raiders are a different list: squirrels and chipmunks.
• Canada was not checked. The rules above are US state rules only.

For the next symptom in the yard, the problems section matches each one to its cause.

Frequently asked questions#

Do opossums eat bird seed?

Yes. ICWDM lists bird feeders among the things opossums get into, with garbage and pet food, and its damage advice is to remove or modify bird feeders so food does not fall to the ground. UC IPM describes them as omnivores that eat fruits, nuts, insects, and birds and their eggs. An opossum will take seed from a tray it can climb to and from the grass under the feeder, so both need fixing.

Can an opossum climb a bird feeder pole?

An unbaffled one, yes. MDC says opossums are well adapted for climbing, with a thumblike opposable toe on each hind foot for gripping small branches, and UC IPM notes they can hang from a branch by the tail. A smooth pole with a long cylinder baffle, set in open ground well away from fences and branches, is the hardware answer. No source we read gives an opossum's jumping limits, so build to the raccoon specification.

Is it illegal to relocate an opossum?

In several states, yes. Virginia DWR says it is illegal to trap and relocate an animal to another area. Ohio's nuisance wildlife rule requires a trapped opossum to be euthanized or released on site. California needs written permission from its wildlife department to relocate wildlife. Illinois allows release on another property only with that owner's permission, and never in parks or natural areas. Check your state agency before setting a trap.

Do opossums carry rabies?

Rarely. ICWDM says opossums are more resistant to rabies than any other mammal, though they are not immune, and Connecticut's wildlife agency calls the chance of rabies in an opossum extremely rare. Virginia DWR adds that seeing one in the daytime is not a sign of rabies. Stumbling, foaming at the mouth or aggression are. Report an animal showing those to your local health department and keep pets away.

Should I let an opossum stay because it eats ticks?

Not on that basis. The tick claim traces to a 2009 laboratory study in which five captive opossums each had 100 larval ticks placed on them. A 2021 study of 32 opossum carcasses from central Illinois found ticks on the animals but no tick parts in the gut contents. Illinois Extension concludes that attracting opossums may not reduce ticks, and that the food draws raccoons, rats and mice too.

Sources and further reading

1. Opossums; Opossum Biology; Opossum Damage Identification; Opossum Damage Prevention and Control Methods Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management Up to 40 in, 4 to 12 lb average, up to 14 lb; range; laws vary, most states have open seasons; primarily nocturnal, may forage by day in cold weather; 10 to 50 acre home range; uses existing dens; 2 or 3 litters, pouch 7 to 8 weeks; gets into bird feeders, garbage and pet food; uses existing openings; preys on poultry and eggs; more resistant to rabies than any other mammal but not immune; remove or modify bird feeders; 1 x 1/2 in hardware cloth, 2 in deep with a 12 to 18 in skirt; one-way door 6 x 6 x 10 in; no registered repellents; no effective frightening devices
2. Opossum (Pest Notes, Publication 74123) University of California Statewide IPM Program Omnivore diet including birds and eggs; pet food dishes, compost and garbage; opposable rear thumb and prehensile tail; 4 ft poultry wire fence with a loose 12 to 18 in top bent outward; nongame mammal in California; relocation needs written permission
3. Virginia Opossum, Field Guide Missouri Department of Conservation 24 to 34 in, 4 to 15 lb; birds and bird eggs, fruit in fall and early winter, pet bowls; active in winter while raccoons are dormant; breeding from early February, 12 to 13 day gestation; second litter weaned by end of September; well adapted for climbing
4. Virginia Opossum fact sheet Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 15 to 20 in plus tail, 4 to 12 lb; breeding from early March; young in the pouch 60 days, weaned at 80, independent at 100; dens in buildings and brush; rabies extremely rare; may be trapped and hunted in Connecticut
5. Skunks and Opossums Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources No kill permit needed, landowner may kill on own land in closed season; illegal to trap and relocate; remove bird feeders where problem species are seen; daytime sighting not a sign of rabies
6. What to do about opossums Humane World for Animals Tight lids on garbage, no pet food out overnight; den exclusion with loose fill, check for young, wait two or three nights, L-shaped footer; rabies extremely rare
7. Ohio Admin. Code 1501:31-15-03, Nuisance wild animal control Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School Any person may trap nuisance wild animals; a trapped opossum must be euthanized or released on site (E)(3); effective 1 Jan 2024
8. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14, 465.5, Use of Traps Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School Furbearing and nongame mammals that are legal to trap must be immediately killed or released (g)(1); 150 yard setback from residences without written consent
9. Frequently Asked Questions Wildlife Illinois Most removed wildlife euthanized if not released on the property; relocation only with the receiving owner's permission, never to parks or natural areas
10. Nuisance Wildlife Pennsylvania Game Commission Rabies vector species list (opossum not on it); live wildlife may be relocated to a natural setting; contact region office; check traps daily
11. Transport of Rabies High-Risk Animals Texas Department of State Health Services Transport ban covers fox, skunk, coyote and raccoon; opossum not listed
12. Reassessing the opossum-tick relationship: Is it a good idea to attract opossums? University of Illinois Extension 2009 lab study of five opossums with 100 larval ticks each; Hennessy and Hild 2021, 32 central Illinois carcasses, no tick parts in gut contents; attracting opossums draws raccoons, rats and mice