I don't understand your referance to Kevlar with plates. I'm sometimes slow on the uptake. Tell me, what are these animals doing? If we know more about the situation, we can help to suggest things you can do to discourage them.

The only times I had problems with 'possums were when I had outdoor garbage cans that they could get into quite easily.
I don't think they are cute at all, but I do believe you can prevent problems with them. Share more information, please.

Dorie
You will have to forgive me for I have a very dry sense of humor. The reference to Kevlar (what bulletproof vests are made of), and to plates, which are the plates they put in the bulletproof vests for further protection. It was meant as a joke, but unfortunately and sadly, if I cannot find a reasonable solution, I may have to resort to this crude method, but I wish to try and exhaust all other means first.

I have put beehives in my field, with cap blocks on top for weight and the possum's keep turning them over. I would like a kind and gentle way (if possible) to rid myself of these creatures. Unfortunately I cannot allow this to continue.
Thank you
ancient

What works for almost all folks and is recommended by our Wildlife Rescue group here in Austin is rags soaked in ammonia (works for squirrels and raccoons too). Place several around your hives and maybe one on top in a pan (so it won't soak into the wood). I don't know if your bees are dormant in Z7 yet, but I don't imagine the smell would bother them much either way.
Good luck,
C. in Austin

C. in Austin
I really appreciate your reply and will try the remedy you have suggested. I have already caught four of them in traps and taken them forty miles away to the national forests. Time-consuming and also expensive but better than shooting. My hives are in hibernation and I have lost six queens, making me combine several hives and can only hope for the best.
Thank you very much
ancient

I take care of opossums all the time. If you are just dealing with opossums on your property, you need to capture and remove them. Unfortunately, there is no magic spray or ultrasonic repeller that will take care of the problem. You've done good work capturing them and relocating them 40 miles (if it's legal in your area to do so), so keep up the good work, and 10 miles should be fine. Also, keep in mind that the culprit could be more than opossums, raccoons certainly come to mind.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wildlife removal tips

I have heard that rags soaked in ammonia help repel possums. There are also products carried by suppliers such as https://www.critter-repellent.com that have formulas that reportedly repel possums such as fox-urine powders (a natural form of small animal repelents. These are used so that you don't actually harm the animals.

No no no. All of these home remedies, the mothballs, the ammonia soaked rags, the coyote urine, the ultrasonic sound emitters, they WILL NOT WORK, and if they seem to, it's because the animal left due to other factors.

Opossums are generally nomadic, so maybe if you just wait, they will leave the area. Of course, new ones might wander in.

If your property has anything attractive to opossums, such as food or shelter, eliminate these things. Don't leave out pet food. Don't leave a shed or deck with access underneath.

Of course, the opossums probably won't cause you harm, no matter how ugly they are. They aren't really spreaders of disease, and they aren't agressive.

If you might want to hire an expert for the problem, click below

Here is a link that might be useful: Professional Opossum Control - Get Rid of Possums

Putting something around beehives that doesn't feel good to their feet usually works.

Try putting some chicken wire on the ground around your hives and see if that works.

Also, if you have opossums living under your deck or shed, you can install a steel mesh around the perimiter (and down into the ground) to prevent them from entering the area.

I have excellent neighbours however they love possums and have about 7 that they can hand feed and they have placed boxes for them in their trees. My problem is that I am trying to establish a garden and they will randomly decide to eat my herbs or uproot some of my bromiliads. I would really like some form of natural repellent to keep them away. I intend to attach some corrigated plastic/ iron sheets on the trees they tend to frequent and where they have damaged some broms that I have tried to attach to the trunk-but would appreciate any other suggestions.

They do spread disease. My horse is suffering fro equine protozoal myelencephelitis, a spinal cord and brain disease spread only by possums. He probably got it when we lived in OK, although it could have come from contaminated feed.
If you have horses, try to cut down on the possum population as this is a devastating disease and very expensive to treat. It is only spread through possum feces. No other animal has been proven to give it horses, although cats and coons may carry it and give it to possums.

To say nothing about fleas, ticks, mites, and other vermin that come with the territory of feeding wild animals.

.22 works best with a silencer but you need the gun license etc. Ultra sonic repellers DO WORK, you just have to buy the correct unit frequency for the animal you wish to repel.
Ammonia will fade after awhile and also does work if using 10% w/w or stronger (that also needs a license)
BTW in some counties, it is law to irradiate them NOT keep them. Go figure. Maybe its the stupid people wanting to import animals from outside that areas ecosystem.

Hi all, I'm a new boy here.
My home in SA. has a 3/4 acre block with many fruit trees & a deck that covers the top of my 4000 gallon rain water tank beside the house, I have trellis below the deck which is pretty well covered by a 5 year old passion fruit vine. & for the last 3 years I have not been able to pick any ripe passion fruit because the resident possums move in every night and pilfer the fruit (before they get any color). Last year the possums ate 80 passion fruit in one night & I got none! I don't want to put any smelly repellents near the house so I looked up on the internet ways of preventing possums from being a pest.
It seems that some people have had success with gadgets (expensive) that emit a tone and have stroboscopic lights.
I happened to have a small inexpensive battery powered party strobe light & gave it a try, I could hear the possums cross my roof (flat tin) on their way to the vine. I was astonished that the strobe light did actually repel the possums it seems that they don't like bright flashing lights, There are at least 4-5 possums that inhabit my garden, & each one that came left quickly without getting any fruit. They persisting in coming back every night but leave as soon as they they get into the range of the LED stroboscope.
I have only had this going for 4 days so far.
The battery powered stroboscope is very cheap to run, it uses 3 AA batteries which after at least 40 hrs run time are still carrying near full charge. Obviously 4 days (nights) is not a long period of time to be claiming success but I am encouraged as the fruit are now beginning to color & I should be able to pick a lot in 3-4 more days.
The possums (3-4 ring tails & 1 brush tail) don't seem to bother with my veggie patch so far but if they do I'll get more strobe lights.
Sorry for the long winded story but I am quite exited that I seem to have found a way to keep the possums at bay inexpensively not using chemicals & without harming them or driving them out of their territory.
My theory is that the possums can't adjust their vision to rapidly flashing bright light & won't stay in range of it.
I would be interested to know if any one else has tried this technique.

Best solution is trap, remove, then dispatch.

Hi all, pleased to say that I managed to harvest all but 6 passion fruit from a crop of 250. The 6 I didn't get were taken by rats not the possums. I did expand my strobe lights by 2 more units, one a panel of 256 led's & another was a round 12 v unit ( made for a car with magnetic base for roof mount with 6 different strobe patterns possible covering 360 degrees).
So I am satisfied that the strobe lights were an effective deterrent. However my garden was lit up like a disco every night & that might be a bit intrusive to neighbors for some people, fortunately I don't have any neighbors in direct line of sight so it was not a problem for me.
I note the comment by BKWildlifeCntrl 7 above, but here in Australia possums are a protected native species, trapping is permitted if the possums are getting into the house roof but must be released no further than 50 meters from the point of capture! which in my case would not even get them off my property, so not really an option for me.
I'm happy to go into more detail about the strobe lights (costs, where to buy etc) & their positioning if any one else wants to try this solution.

I'm way late to the conversation but better late than never.

There are definitely some interesting posts in this column.

Possums have a special place in my heart. I remember when I was a young boy I visited my uncle in Tennessee, he had a opossum problem but he was ok with it. If you have a lot of land, they aren't horrible creatures, however in the suburbs they can be a nuisance. I've caught my fare share of the little guys. The best success I've had is using a trap.

Here is a link that might be useful: Opossum Facts & Removal Tips

I'm still trying to figure out the right term to use. Is it Opossum or Possum? I went with Possum on our resource page but not sure if it's geographic preference to use the technical term or not. Thoughts?

On a side note, I'd not encourage a shotgun. Trapping and relocation is simply and effective.

Possum Resource Page

Opossum is the proper name, possum is simply a contraction for lazy people to use.

For many firing a gun may be illegal. In Michigan shooting a gun within 350 feet of a dwelling is illegal, even if it is your dwelling. In many states moving wildlife without a license is also illegal.

kimmq is kimmsr