Opossums are an omnivore. Unlike us humans who are the most ungrateful being on earth. Always wanting more. Possums can practically survive on any and everything they can get. Possums are mostly nocturnal, so they come when you are taking your beauty sleep.
So your trash cans are a food buffet for them. We don’t mind eating up some of our trash. But the problem is they don’t have an etiquette. They eat like a little brat and go their way leaving all their mess behind. That we cannot tolerate can we? But what to do?
Improve Cleaning Habit
For starters, you can try to fix your laziness. Clean up your surroundings like the yard, and the place around the trash can. Don’t leave the leftovers and bits on the floor from your evening party on the ground. Put the trash inside the bin properly to not have some fall on the ground. Put the trash in 2 bags instead of one. The bin might not be the only or not at all be the reason the possum visits your house.
Secure the Lid
Now you need to secure the lid of the garbage can. If fit cannot open it, it won’t eat from. Less headache for you. You won’t need to clean it up again in the morning. Try using a bungee cord or a rope and tie from one handle to the other to lock in the lid of the can. If you don’t have any rope (ropes are easy to get from any hardware store and are quite cheap by the way), you can use a pipe of any kind that fits around the width of the lid. Tighten it hard and possum has no way of opening it, or you could just put something heavy on the can.
Make the Trashcan Displeasing for the Opossum
Opossums are one of the most feared animals in the world. Where do you think the game “playing possum” came from? All you need to do is get introduced and odor into your cans that is unpleasant to the possum and you are done. Ammonia works wonders here. Every day at some point when you are doing the chores. Pour some ammonia inside the can. Ammonia has an extremely smelly odor which almost everyone avoids. Oh! And don’t forget to close the lid properly. You can also use possum repellents on the cans. Your options also include hot pepper or cayenne pepper.
The Appropriate Trash Can
Don’t use plastic cans as most animals can chew through the plastic. Use metal bins. Heavy metal will be harder for possums to topple over. Some metal cans have a screw lid rather than press-in ones that are more efficient.
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