🐾 Opossum Removal in Savannah

Opossums in Savannah, Georgia

If you've been searching 'possum under my deck', 'opossum in my garage', or 'is a possum dangerous' in Savannah — typically Ardsley Park, Habersham Park, Eastside, Southside, or anywhere with decks and outbuildings — you're dealing with the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), North America's only marsupial. Savannah's mild climate and year-round food supply produce a substantial opossum population, less concentrated in the dense Historic District but routine in the surrounding residential submarkets. Opossums are far less destructive than raccoons and almost never carry rabies (their body temperature is too low for the virus), but they're persistent, frequently arrive in family groups, and getting them out cleanly takes the same kind of professional approach as other species.

Possum Under Your Deck or in Your Yard? What to Know Tonight

Most Savannah opossum encounters happen one of three ways: a homeowner spots an animal under the deck or porch at dusk; a possum gets trapped in the garage after the door closed at night; or pet food, garbage, or compost has been raided overnight. Opossums are slow, generally non-aggressive, and almost never rabid. Tonight's steps:

• Don't try to grab or chase the opossum. 50 sharp teeth (most of any North American mammal) and they'll bite when cornered. They also play dead involuntarily, which can last several hours.
• Possum in my garage — open the garage door wide, turn off interior lights, turn on exterior lights, clear a path outside. Will usually leave within 1-2 hours.
• Possum under my deck or porch — most are temporary residents. Restrict pet food and garbage access; if they don't leave, schedule a removal.
• Possum in my crawl space or attic — less common than raccoons but does happen, especially in older Historic District homes with accessible crawl-space vents and decayed soffits, and in eastside / Tybee-style raised-foundation construction.
• Possum playing dead in my yard — leave it alone. The 'death' state can last 4-6 hours and is involuntary; if you bury or remove a 'dead' opossum, it may revive.
• Mother possum with babies in pouch or on back — separating mother and joeys is a real welfare concern. Licensed contractors handle these situations with appropriate care.

Signs You Have an Opossum on Your Savannah Property

• Knocked-over trash cans, raided compost, stolen pet food — most common first sign in Savannah. Pet food bowls left outside overnight are essentially opossum bait.
• Hand-like tracks — opossum tracks have five fingers on front feet that look strikingly human-like, with a distinctive opposable thumb on hind feet. Visible in mud, sand, or soft soil.
• Possum poop — medium-sized droppings, often pointed at one end, sometimes with visible insect parts or fruit pits.
• Hissing sound from under a deck or shed at night — opossums hiss defensively when threatened.
• Dead opossum on the road or in your yard — high road-mortality rates make dead possums common in Savannah; persistent presence suggests an active local population.
• Greasy fur marks at low-clearance entry points — under deck steps, around foundation vents, at crawl-space access.

Opossum vs Raccoon — How to Tell Them Apart in Savannah

• Tail — opossum has a long, hairless, pink-gray prehensile tail. Raccoon has a fluffy, banded tail. Clearest single visual tell.
• Face — opossum has a pointed pink snout, white face, beady black eyes. Raccoon has the iconic black 'mask.'
• Size — opossums 4-12 lbs; coastal Savannah raccoons 18-30 lbs.
• Body shape — opossum slimmer, more weasel-like; raccoon stockier.
• Behavior — opossums freeze, hiss, or play dead; raccoons hold ground, growl, can be aggressive.
• Damage — opossums cause far less property damage. Raccoons tear gable vents, chew wiring, destroy insulation. Opossums mostly raid trash and occasionally nest in crawl spaces.

Where Opossums Hide on Savannah Properties

• Under decks, porches, and steps — dominant residential opossum habitat in Ardsley Park, Habersham Park, Eastside, and Southside Savannah.
• Under sheds, outbuildings, pool houses — common in Eastside waterfront and Wilmington-Island-adjacent properties.
• In garages and carports — opossums walk into open garages and sometimes get stuck overnight when doors close.
• In crawl spaces — particularly in Tybee-style raised-foundation construction and older Eastside housing with damaged crawl-space vents.
• In attics — less common than raccoons but does happen in older Historic District and Ardsley Park homes.
• In thick brush and unmaintained yard borders — temporary day shelter.
• In dock storage and boat lifts — Eastside waterfront and Wilmington Island.

Are Possums Dangerous? Disease, Pets, and Coastal Risks

Opossums are much less dangerous than raccoons or skunks. The risks aren't zero:

• Rabies — opossums almost never carry rabies because their body temperature is too low. Generally NOT considered a significant rabies vector in Georgia.
• Other diseases — leptospirosis, salmonellosis, tularemia, and parasites (fleas, ticks, mites). Direct disease transmission to humans is uncommon.
• Pet conflicts — dogs that catch opossums can pick up fleas, ticks, parasites. The opossum will usually 'play dead' rather than fight; defensive opossums will bite.
• EPM (equine protozoal myeloencephalitis) — opossums are the definitive host for the parasite that causes EPM in horses. Properties with horses (rare in city of Savannah but present in the rural Pooler/Bloomingdale-adjacent areas) have a documented disease risk.
• Property damage — minor compared to raccoons. Knocked-over trash, raided pet food, occasional egg loss, occasional crawl-space nesting.

What 'Playing Dead' Actually Means

Opossums playing dead — formally 'thanatosis' — is an involuntary defensive reflex triggered by extreme stress. The animal collapses, becomes rigid, slows breathing, sometimes excretes a foul-smelling substance, and can remain in this state for 4-6 hours or longer. An opossum playing dead is not actually dead, and many homeowners learn this after bagging or burying the animal. Steps if you find an apparently-dead opossum: leave it alone for at least 6 hours; don't poke or move it; if after 24+ hours it shows actual decomposition signs, it's genuinely dead. If it moves, give it space to walk away.

How to Keep Opossums Away From Your Savannah Home

• Eliminate food sources — secure trash cans with tight lids, bring pet food bowls inside at night, secure compost, harvest fallen fruit. Highest-impact intervention.
• Skirt your deck and shed properly — install hardware cloth (1/4-inch mesh) along the bottom of deck framing and shed perimeters, buried at least 6 inches into the ground.
• Seal crawl-space vents — particularly in Eastside and Tybee-style raised-foundation construction.
• Keep garage doors closed at night.
• Trim back vegetation against the house.

How Much Does Possum Removal Cost in Savannah?

Most Savannah opossum removal calls run between $200 and $500+. Variables: yard or under-deck removal (lower) vs in-structure (higher), single animal vs family group with joeys, structural sealing scope, crawl-space cleanup if applicable. Single-animal under-deck removal at the low end runs $200-$300+; structural opossum removal with crawl-space remediation can run $500-$1,200+. Phone estimates are free.

How We Remove and Relocate Savannah Opossums

1. Inspection (day 1). Confirm species (opossum vs raccoon vs skunk), locate denning, check for joeys.
2. Trap setup or one-way exclusion (day 1-2).
3. Active removal (days 2-5). Opossums typically captured within 1-3 nights.
4. Sealing (day 3-7). Hardware cloth perimeter, buried barriers, structural exclusion.
5. Sanitation (day 5-7). Cleanup of nest sites and droppings zones.

Total timeline: 3-7 days for routine work. See our full Chatham County opossum removal coverage.

📅 Summer Activity

Opossums raise their second litter of the year through summer. Juvenile opossums dispersing from their mother are frequently found in unexpected places, including inside garages, under appliances, and in crawlspaces.

Opossum Removal Cost in Savannah

$150–$400+

Trapping and relocation. Cleanup and entry point sealing are additional services. Call for an estimate — pricing varies by contractor and job complexity.

Frequently Asked Questions — Opossum Removal in Savannah