With summer comes cookouts, time spent outdoors, and large collections of food and trash for opossums and raccoons to rummage through at night. Unlike when they take up residence in your attic or crawl space, a homeowner might not feel great urgency if either of these creatures is frequenting the yard or outdoor trash cans. This can be problematic, however, as they can cause damage to the yard and create quite a mess, strewing garbage in the hunt for an easy meal. Not to mention their ability – raccoons more so than opossums – to be carriers of the rabies virus.

Fortunately, critter control experts are well-practiced at humanely removing raccoons and opossums, so homeowners can rest easily without the animals coming to harm.

Raccoons

Raccoons tend to favor wooded areas, especially near water. So, if you’ve got a home with a lot of trees in the backyard and a creek nearby – you know, like most of the Triangle area – you might want to keep an eye out. Raccoons are intelligent and tenacious, notorious for causing damage to lawns and homes in their search for food or shelter, and they even make sure to polish off the birdfeeder.

More: Information on Local Wake Raccoon Removal

Raccoons are more aggressive than opossums and the more likely to be infected with parasitic diseases and illnesses including salmonella, rabies, giardiasis and many others.

(O)Possums

The “O” might be silent, but trust us – opossums can raise quite the ruckus in the right circumstances. Like raccoons, opossums are most active at night and are also on the hunt for an easy meal. To be fair to these marsupials, opossums are far less aggressive than raccoons, rarely carry disease, and generally act as a cleaning service by taking care of things (slugs, rotten fruit, etc.) that most homeowners would rather not touch.

More: Information on Local Wake Opossum Removal

Opossums become problematic when their scrounging results in damage, mess-making, or they want to settle down in an attic or crawl space.

Prevention

The easiest way to remove raccoons and opossums from your yard or home is to make your property as uninviting as possible – think of it as turning off the front porch light on Halloween and how trick-or-treaters walk on by. Keep garbage cans or waste bins with food tightly sealed, and consider fencing and covering compost areas. Screen and seal possible entrances to your home or foundation, including sheds, and remove brush piles.

If you are already victim to unwanted yard guests and have woken once or twice to the crash of trashcans or a lawn littered with debris, don’t worry – just contact us or give us a call at 919-382-0651 in the Triangle areas of Raleigh, Durham, Cary and Wake county, and we’ll humanely remove the animals.