What Is the Best Bait for an Opossum Trap?

Opossums are mild-mannered marsupials that rarely cause problems passing through your yard. However, trapping a nuisance individual perpetually pestering your poultry or living in your attic might be necessary. To help quickly contain the critter, you’ll want to select the best bait for opossum traps.

Check out our list of lush lures to find out if you already have something palatable in your pantry, along with other helpful possum baiting and trapping advice.

7 Best Baits For Opossum Traps

Opossums are opportunistic omnivores who enjoy a wide variety of foods, but they’re especially big fans of stinky and sweet snacks. It’s also handy that opossums aren’t the smartest species and are less wary of traps than some wildlife.

Below are some of the most tempting bait options for opossum traps.

1. Pet food

Wet food works better than dry kibble, but if there are roaming cats around, they could end up as unintended captives.

2. Meat

Opossums regularly feed on carrion, so strong-smelling old meat, chicken entrails, and smoked bacon are tempting. 

3. Fish

The distinct, pungent odor is enticing for opossums. Oily, tinned sardines, herring, or mackerel can work wonders, and these are the things you might have at the back of your pantry.

4. Eggs

Opossums appreciate cracked raw chicken eggs, and, handily, this bait doesn’t have the strong odor of fish or meat that might attract other unintended animals to the traps. They’ll even be drawn to rotten eggs for the smell.

5. Fruit

If you have overripe bananas, apples, melons, or grapes on hand, they make tempting treats cut up in opossum traps. 

6. Other Sweet Stuff

Try smearing peanut butter or jam onto a piece of bread.

7. Aniseed Oil

Some trappers swear by using a piece of stale bread soaked in this strong-smelling oil as an irresistible opossum bait.

Tips for Trapping Opossums

It’s not just the best bait you have to consider to get these critters into the cages. Some other trapping tips include:

• Pre-bait the area: Lay out some tasty treats in the area for a few days before you set the trap to lower any suspicions the opossum has once the trap is in place.

• Leave a bait trail: This can help attract opossums (who aren’t the smartest) toward and into the trap.

• Pick the best bait position: Lay the bait at the back of the trap to ensure the opossum goes right inside and triggers the closing mechanism.

• Screen the trap: Covering the trap with a screen helps disguise the cage, and the opossum is less likely to be able to grab the bait from outside the trap.

• Switch up baits: Try a different type of food if the opossum hasn’t entered the trap after a few days. 

What to Do Once Opossums Take the Bait

Once the opossum is in the trap, you can’t just take it to a rural area and set it free. Relocating is typically illegal without a special license, as this increases the chance of spreading diseases or the opossum getting injured or dying in an unfamiliar place. 

You can re-release trapped nuisance opossums in the immediate vicinity (while also taking steps to keep them from reentering your property), or, where state rules allow, humanely euthanize them. In the latter circumstance, consider hiring a local opossum removal specialist to handle the job safely, legally, and efficiently. The average professional opossum removal costs range from $150 to $350.

How to Keep Opossums Out of Your Yard

Unless an opossum is a major nuisance, prevention is a better long-term strategy than repeatedly trapping them. Some practical ways to get rid of possums from your yard include:

• Exclusion: Introduce or repair opossum-proof fencing, trim trees to keep these animals off your roof, and seal up entries to potential den spaces such as attics, crawl spaces, and under decks.

• Habitat modification: Prune overgrown shrubs and remove leaf litter, hollow wood piles, and yard debris that make good hiding spots.

• Remove food sources: Seal trash cans, keep pet food indoors, and clean up fallen fruit and scattered birdseed. These all make attractive, easy meals for opossums.

• Deterrents: Motion-activated outdoor lights, sprinklers, and repellents like predator urine can help. However, they’re best used alongside the techniques above, as opossums can become habituated.