How To Scare Possums Away From Your Roof

Like other nocturnal animals, possums always thrive in a dark environment like the roof. And when they enter your roof, they are there to hunt for food, mate, gestate and have babies.

They won’t come as one-time visitors. So, how do you scare them away from your roof and prevent them from returning?

We will share some ideas that work with you in this piece.

In the headings below, we will examine ten practical ways to scare possums. We will also answer some common queries about deterring these rodents.

10 Ways To Scare Possums From Your Roof

Below are the top-notch tips you can engage in scaring possums from your roof:

1. Scare Them by Sprinkling Quassia Chips

Quassia chips are entirely harmless to humans but have Insecticidal properties and a bitter taste. Unfortunately, this property makes it a toxin for possums.

It is available in powder and fluid form. So all you have to do is to sprinkle some quantity on your roof and around your home.

2. Grow Predatory Plants

Aside from quassia chips, predatory plants are effective possums repellents. Possums are highly allergic to some plant species.

Plants like agapanthus, citronella varieties, lavender, and rosemary bushes deter them. For best results, you have to grow a particular kind of plant in order not to have conflicting scents.

Regardless of the kind of plants you want to grow, you must ensure they grow properly. And plant them uniformly around your house.

3. Have Motion-Activated Sprinklers

You can fix motion-activated sprinklers on the edge of your roof. They have tanks planted on their back filled with water. Their water is released when they sense possums are coming toward your ceiling.

The pressure of the water spray is not strong enough to hurt or kill a possum. However, it causes enough annoyance, making the possums go elsewhere from your roof.

Moreover, possums hate getting wet and will move away from devices that can get them wet.

4. Install Flashy Lights on Your Roof

Possums are nocturnal animals that like to operate at night when everywhere is dark. So anything you can put around that lights up when they are about to go into your roof will chase them off.

Fix 4-6 very bright flashy-blinking lights around your roof and also in your roof.

You can also employ a more expensive but effective approach. For example, installing motion-activated lights is very effective. The lights suddenly and sharply come on when possums come close to your roof.

The sudden and flashy lights will scare the possums away and deter them from returning.

5. Use Mothballs

Possums have a brilliant sense of smell. Their sense of smell works better than any other sense organ in their body. Unfortunately, mothball offers them a horrible smell due to naphthalene.

To use mothballs, place them strategically on your roof, and don’t make them look too obvious. If you keep them in the open, they can easily be kicked and swept away by possums. In addition, the chemical in mothballs is toxic to your pets when ingested.

Do not place mothballs where small children or pets can reach them.

Mothballs may smell unpleasant in excessive quantities. But, mostly, mothballs and flashy lights work well together.

6. Spray Bleach Around

Like mothballs, bleach is a great way to scare off possums because of their pungent odor. For best results, mix bleach and water in a proportion of 1:10 to make a spray. Then, pour the mixture into a spray bottle.

Then spray it strategically on your roof and surroundings to repel possums. Not only is bleach an effective repellant because of its irritants property it is also very cheap.

Bleach is readily accessible and affordable in almost every retail store worldwide.

And can be your go-to help to scare possums away. However, you must be careful in its application because it can cause burns. So always ensure your body is adequately covered when you are about to apply bleach.

7. Own a Dog

Dog bark at almost everything and will not hesitate to bark at the sight of a possum. However, due to possums’ small size and docile characteristics, they cannot attract a dog. Instead, they play dead or run away at the confrontation with a fiery dog.

Possums usually prefer spaces where there’s no direct danger to them. Generally, possums see any animal longer than them as a threat.

For this reason, possums will avoid homes and roofs with dogs.

Even if the possum needs food immediately, it will not risk its safety for food. Instead, it will flee from your environment.

8. Place an Ultrasonic Device on Your Roof

Here’s how you can scare off possums with an ultrasonic device:

An ultrasonic repeller is an electronic device that measures the distance of your target (in this case, possums). Then, it emits ultrasonic sound waves to scare them away. All you have to do is to plug the device into the wall socket.

The device works as a guard on your roof. Naturally, the possums will dislike the high-pitched sound. This high-frequency sound is above humans. Thereby, it will not disturb your sleep at all.

9. Set Up a Trap

if you already have possums on your roof, get a box to capture them and send them to a distant location. That should prevent them from coming back.

Please find out how the possums are getting into your roof by observing in the evening when they will leave to eat.

After careful investigation, go to your roof and look for their droppings. Tracing their droppings should lead you straight to their nest. Once you have found their nest, place it into the cage because it contains the scent of the possums.

Then move the cage 4 meters away from their original nesting place. Place fresh bananas or apples in the cell and also along its path. The possums will return to sleep in their nest and enjoy the bait you left.

When they are asleep, close the cage and move them out of your roof as soon as possible.

10. Seek Professional Help

Having engaged the strategies above, you can contact the possum control agents for assistance if you need further help. Of course, there’s zero harm in asking for help.

Some possums, like the North American possums, can be very difficult to scare. Call an animal control center to flush them out if you encounter one. They will never come back under the watch of adequately trained professionals.

Conclusion

While trying to scare possums off your roof, look for possible things in your surroundings that attract them. Avoid piling up dirt outside, trim tall grass, and cut down tree branches looming over your roof.

It should make your environment seem more unsuitable for them to live and thrive. Also, block every access to the roof by installing iron nets around the perimeter of your roof.