Virginia Opossum Removal Techniques

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provides opossum removal services in Virginia.

Professional grade single door live capture traps are used to trap opossums damaging landscapes.  These traps are placed next to the damage areas on your property. Like all of our traps for other animals these traps are covered with a custom galvanized sheet metal cover.  Opossums appear to be aggressive by the site of their teeth and hissing, but in reality they are very docile animals.

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provides opossum removal, opossum control, can get rid of a opossum, and opossum infestations in the counties, cities and towns of Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, and Yorktown, Virginia.

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.


Virginia Opossum Damage & Damaged Areas

Urban environments offer the ideal place for opossums to thrive due to their biological habits and their ability to live in man made landscapes.  Vacated burrows created by other animals, such as striped skunks and woodchucks, offer a great home for opossums.  Low lying decks or shrubs are at times convenient to them as well.  They create more of a nuisance to people than damage to your property.  Most of the damage created by opossums is found in crawl spaces and occasionally in an attic.  The opossum is the most common animal that we find in homes and businesses when a dead animal odor is sensed.  Loose or missing foundation vents can lead to costly clean out and deodorizing services due to their droppings and urine smell.  Opossums tend to pull the insulation down in crawl spaces looking for nesting areas that lead to costly repairs as well.  Their foraging habits can eliminate thousands of dollars in ornamentals around your home and vegetable gardens.

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. can help prevent opossum damage by providing opossum removal or get rid of opossum in your yard, home, or business in the counties, cities and towns of Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, and Yorktown Virginia, we are here to help you.

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.


Dead Opossum under house trailer.

Opossum feces on insulation.

Install burial fencing to keep opossums from living under a porch.

Virginia Opossum Identification

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provide opossum identification in Virginia.  If you need opossum description, opossum body size, opossum average adult length, opossum average adult weight, weight of opossum at birth, opossum fur color, opossum tracks, opossum scat or poop, or opossum voice & sounds in Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, and Yorktown Virginia, Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. is available to solve your opossum problem. 

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.

Opossum Description: 

Overgrown rat with 50 teeth.

Opossum Body Size: Males may be more than twice the size of females at the same age.

  • Ave. Length (Adult):  24” – 34” from nose to tip of tail.
  • Ave. Weight (Adult):  4 - 15 lbs.
  • Young at Birth:  ½” long, blind, incomplete development except well formed claws on front legs, attached to teats inside pouch on mother around 60 days.
  • 60 Days:  About the size of a full grown mouse, eyes and mouth open and will release from mothers teat.
  • 80 Days:  About the size of an adult rat, will leave pouch for short periods of time, can be seen riding mothers back.
  • 100 Days:  Weaned from mother and are less than 24” long.

Opossum Fur Color: 

Single hair is pure white to white with a black tip, total appearance being grayish white, pink nose with a white face, ears are mostly black and hairless, eyes are black, tail is black at base becoming pink, feet are pink to white.

Opossum Voice & Sounds: 

Low growls or hissing noises and chattering of teeth when disturbed.

Opossum Tracks:

Often confused with a raccoon.   

Opossum Scat: 

Varies with diet.

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.


Virginia Opossum Reproduction

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. considers both the time of year opossums breed, when opossums are born, opossum gestation period, the number of opossums born, opossum weaning period, and the average reproductive age of opossums within their respective geographic region of Virginia prior to controlling opossums in your landscape or yard in Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, or Yorktown Virginia. 

Time of Year:  (Twice a year.)  December to February and May to August   

Gestation Period:  12 - 13 days

Young Born:  January to March and May to September                      

Ave. Repro. Age:  1 Year

Number of Young Born:  5 - 13                        

Weaning:  2 ½ months.  Independent at 3 ½ months.

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.


Other Information About Opossums In Virginia

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provide removal and control of opossums in residential and commercial landscapes and structures in Virginia. It is not always important to know everything about opossums, but often clients need to know other information about opossum in Virginia.  Below is some additional information about opossum, such as opossum habitat, where do opossum live, home range of a opossum, opossum food, opossum habits, average life span of a opossum, and opossum health concerns that you may want to know.  If you live in Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, or Yorktown Virginia and would like to know more about opossum, please give us a call.

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.

Habitat: 

Wooded areas, farm land and suburbs close to water.

Home: 

They may have several.  Typically another animals shelter, a hollow tree, cavities in rocks, brush piles, and even a trash pile will keep them cozy.  They do not dig burrows.  They use other animal’s burrows.

Home Range: 

About 40 acres.

Food:

Just about any dead animal remains, insects, berries, corn, dog food, cat food, and any table scrapes you throw away.

Habits: 

Nocturnal.  Active year round.

Hibernation: 

They do not hibernate.  Active regardless of the temperature.

Defense: 

When threatened they will expose their teeth, salivate, emit a fowl smelling green fluid from their anal glands, and or fake death “Playing Opossum”.

Average Life Span: 

1 1/2 years in the wild and up to 7 years in captivity.  Most of the young will die in their first year of life.

Health Concerns

Health concerns related to the opossums include the parasites fleas, ticks, mites, lice, roundworms, and tapeworms.  The opossum can also serve as a reservoir for protozoan, fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases.  See the Virginia Department of Health web site for information on these parasites and diseases. 

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.


Virginia Dead Opossum Removal

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provides dead opossum removal services in Virginia. If you have a dead opossum on your propertyor in your home in Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, and Yorktown Virginia, Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. is available to remove the dead opossum from your property.

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.


How long does it take for a technician to pick up an animal once I have called it in?
  • We will make every effort we can to pick up the animal and re-set a trap as soon as possible.
  • We often have two to three trucks out at a time and the secretary will notify the closest technician to your property.
What is covered in my optional service warranty fee for opossums?
  • Once the target animal(s) have been captured or we pull the traps the optional service warranty period will start.
  • This warranty will cover coming out, setting traps, re-baiting as long as it takes to catch the opossums and the per opossum fee.
  • See our Optional Service Warranty page for more details.
Will you renew your optional service warranty?
  • No. January 1st of the next calendar year will require a discounted service fee, plus price per opossum service fee.
  • See our Warranty page for more details.
What does exclusion mean?
  • It is a technique where damaged areas or possible penetration points are made uninhabitable or penetrable to the opossum.
  • See our Repairs page for more details.
How often do you re-bait the traps?
  • Every 1 to 5 days depending on the time of year and weather.
  • We like to keep the bait as fresh or not dried up as possible. If you feel like the trap needs bait or you do not see the bait in the trap, call us and we will send someone out to re-bait it as soon as possible.
How soon can you set the traps?
  • We will typically set the traps the day you call.
  • We always have traps available.
  • We carry the necessary traps needed in our trucks daily on a seasonal basis to better service the customer the day they call.
  • We do not like to put anything off until tomorrow.
How often do you check the traps?
  • State law requires that the traps are checked daily.
  • We ask you as the customer to check the traps and notify us when we have an animal in the trap.
  • By the customer checking the traps, this will eliminate additional costs to the customer and it will also speed up the removal process.
How do I get in touch with the technician once an animal is trapped?
  • The contract has our office number on it as well as our business card.
  • Our office manager will notify the technician.
  • See the Contact Us section for more details.
We live out of town and cannot check the traps everyday?
  • We can provide a complete service to you.
  • If this is a rental property we can contact the tenants and ask them to check the traps if necessary.
We are going out of town next week and do not have anybody that can check the traps daily?
  • We will make arrangements to have our technicians check the traps for you.
  • An additional cost may be incurred.
Will you pick up trapped animals on the weekend and holidays?
  • Yes, we work on the weekends.
  • We typically shut the traps down for holidays so that the customer does not have to be bothered with checking them.
How long does your optional service warranty last for opossums?
  • Till December 31st of that calendar year. Not available in all areas.
  • See our Optional Service Warranty page for more details.
Where do you relocate the animals?
  • Our permit only allows us to relocate squirrels.
What do you do with the animal after you catch it?
  • Our permit allows us to transport the live animals to another location to be euthanized.
  • Relocating a opossum may risk the chance of spreading parasites or disease to an uninfected area.
How do you euthanize the animals or put them to sleep?
  • There are several ways to euthanize an animal. We use the most humane methods approved by the American Veterinary Association..
What if a opossum is trapped when you come out to re-bait?
  • We will call you or leave a note on your door that we picked up an animal.
What types of bait do you use?
  • We use specialty paste baits that are formulated for opossums designed by professionals in our industry for professionals.
How many traps will you set?
  • We set a minimum of two traps, more if available.
  • See our Trapping page for more details.
Where do you set the traps?
  • As close to the damage area as possible.
Can the opossum get out of the trap?
  • No. We use a professional grade trap with doors that lock once they close.
How much are the repairs?
  • We will inspect the ground level areas of the structure to find the current problem area(s), as well as any potential problems areas that should be repaired. We will give you an itemized estimate of these repairs and prices in your contract. You have the option to do what repairs you feel comfortable with. We will only recommend repairs that we feel are important to prevent future problems.
  • See our Repairs page for more details.
Why are the traps covered?
  • We have rigid metal covers fabricated to cover the top, sides and bottom of the trap for several reasons.
  • To prevent anybody from getting sprayed by a non-target striped skunk.
  • The top and sides are to protect the opossum from the weather.
  • The bottom is covered to help reduce any urine or feces from being left on your property. It also reduces damage that the opossum can create by trying to dig its way out of the trap.
  • This cover also prevents curious people that may pass by from seeing the opossum in the trap.
  • It also reduces stress to the opossum while it is in the trap because it feels protected and unseen.
  • We do not use cloth material to cover our traps because the wind may blow it off and the opossum will usually pull the cloth into the trap leaving it uncovered.
  • See our Animal Care page for more details.
Do you guarantee your opossum service?
  • We guarantee that you will receive the most courteous, honest, and professional wildlife management service in Virginia or its FREE!
  • See Our Customer page for more details.
What does the opossum service fee cover?
  • The service fee covers us coming out, inspecting the damages, setting traps if necessary, and keeping them baited as long as it takes to catch the opossums.
What does the price per opossum fee cover?
  • Cost effective to the customer knowing that we may not catch two or more opossum every trip
  • The price per opossum fee covers us coming out, removing the contaminated trap and opossum from your property, re-setting a clean trap with fresh bait, disposal of the opossum, cleaning and disinfecting the contaminated trap for the next customer.
How do you prevent from catching non-target animals?
  • Most urban nuisance animals have adapted to eating anything but what they biologically should eat.
  • We use species specific paste baits, but they do not always work the way they should.
  • We try our best to set the traps in the area where the opossums are traveling.
Do you charge for non-target animals?
  • Yes we do. We still have to come out, release the animal if needed or remove the contaminated trap and animal from your property, re-set a clean trap with fresh bait, disposal of the animal if needed, clean and disinfect the contaminated trap for the next customer.
  • It is the customers’ decision to have us remove or release non-target animals.
  • See our Per Animal Fee page for more details.
What if the trap is stolen?
  • The customer is responsible for the trap. If the trap is set in an area that you feel like it will get stolen, please let us know so that we can move it or anchor it to the ground.
  • There is a replacement fee for stolen traps.
Can I release non-target animals myself?
  • No. There is a chance that the animal could turn and bite you.
  • See our Per Animal Fee page for more details.
Do I have to sign a contract agreement?
  • Yes. In order to protect you and our company a contract must be signed.
  • Our contracts spell out the services to be provided, as well as our guarantee and warranties.
  • You should not do work with a company that is not willing to back up their work in writing.
  • See our Contract page for more details.
How many traps will you set?
  • We set a minimum of two professional grade single door humane live capture traps.
Do you charge for opossum services?
  • Yes. We are not funded by your local, state or federal government. We are a private business and must charge for our services.
  • See our Services page or Contact Us for pricing.
Do you put enough food and water in the traps for the opossum in case you cannot get to it right a way?
  • Yes. There is plenty of food for the opossum.
  • Yes. In the warmer months we will attach water bottles to the traps if necessary. We like to place the traps in shaded areas to reduce heat and dehydration.
Will you inspect my crawl space?
  • Yes, we will needed to inspect the crawl space to look for any biohazards (fecal matter) once the opossums have been removed.
  • See our Biohazards page for more details.
Can you remove the insulation from my crawl space?
  • Yes, we offer insulation cleanout and installation services.
  • See our Biohazards page for more details.
Can you deodorize my crawl space where the opossum nested?
  • Yes, we offer deodorizing services.
  • Sometimes it is necessary to remove the insulation that got the direct hit from the urine and feces.
  • See our Odor Control page for more details.
How long is the opossum service fee good for?
  • Your contract will specify the time period that it is good for, which is usually a minimum of 5 days.
  • If the opossums have not been caught in 5 days, which is rare, we will leave the traps out as long as it takes to catch them at no additional service fee cost.
How long does your standard opossum service last once you pull the traps?
  • Our standard service fee is usually a minimum of 5 days. Once we pull the traps or after the opossums have been captured, we will re-set the traps if another opossum is seen.
Why did you pull the traps before 5 days?
  • Once the opossums have been captured and we have not had any captures or you have not seen any in a week we will pull the traps. Leaving the traps set will only increase the chances of capturing non-target animals.
  • See our Per Animal Fee page for more details on non-target animals.
  • You also have the option of purchasing the optional service warranty.
  • See our Optional Service Warranty page for more details.
Will you repair the damaged areas to prevent future problems with opossums?
  • Yes. We will inspect the ground level area of structure to find the current problem area(s), as well as any potential problems areas that should be repaired. We will give you an itemized estimate of these repairs and prices in your contract. You have the option to do what repairs you feel comfortable with. We will only recommend repairs that we feel are important to prevent future problems.
  • See our Repairs page for more details.
Do you warranty your opossum repairs?
  • All of our warranties have a one-year minimum.
  • See our Warranty page for more details.

Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) Order Marsupialia Removal & Control

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provides rodent control, opossum removal, opossum control, and opossum pest control in Virginia. 

The Opossum can adapt to human environments easily and usually by choice.  In human environments Opossum can adapt easily due to the abundance of food and shelter.  Humans provide food sources such as bird feeders, trash cans, and pet food bowls that are replenished regularly.  Urban landscapes provide attractive nuts, buds, and fruits from trees that Opossum will favor.  Once an Opossum has found a prevalent food source it will look for a den site that is relatively close to that food source.  Your home is the den site due to increases in urbanization or land development in Opossum inhabited areas, and the overpopulation of Opossums in these areas does not help.  Loose foundation vents, drain pipes, and low laying decks or porches are the most common den locations around your home.  Opossums are very mild mannered, nocturnal or nighttime animals.  Most people think they are vicious because of their hiss and grin pose when they are threatened. Their droppings and urine leave a lingering odor, not to mention a biohazard in crawl spaces and attics.  As long as we continue to urbanize and provide an abundance of food to the Opossum they will continue to adapt to human environments and pose a threat to homes and human health.            

If you need opossum control, opossum removal, to get rid of opossum, or to get rid of a opossum infestation in the counties, cities and towns of Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, and Yorktown Virginia. Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. is here to help you.  Please Contact Us to help solve your opossum problem. 

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.



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Blue Ridge Wildlife & Pest Management
Wildlife & Fisheries Biologists on Staff
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5131 Benois Rd. Roanoke, VA 24018
Toll-Free: 540-940-6489




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