如果您听到阁楼或爬行空间周围的小脚的刺耳，您的第一个可怕的想法可能是您有老鼠，或者甚至更糟的是老鼠。
Nothing could prepare you for the utter shock of coming face-to-face with the creepy, black eyes of an opossum in your attic instead!
If this situation sounds familiar, keep reading. We’ve got just the solutions you need for how to deal with this type of scenario…and don’t worry—it’s more common than you think!
埃德（Ed）在害虫防治行业工作了多年，帮助1,000名房主在昆虫和啮齿动物管理的世界中浏览。现在，他管理害虫策略，以帮助世界各地的房主！
Table of Contents
Finding The Source Of Your Opossum Problem
您在阁楼上处理负鼠的第一步是弄清楚它是如何以及为什么起来的。
It didn’t just magically appear overnight; there’s got to be an attractant up there and an entry point through which it made its way inside. Your job is to locate both of those things before you can focus ongetting rid of the opossum。
否则，您会邀请更多的麻烦回到阁楼上！
First, Check And Seal Up Loose Boards
负鼠可以进入阁楼或爬网空间的最简单方法之一是通过松散的筋膜板。By sealing up all the possible entryways in your home, you’re eliminating the methods an opossum can use to skirt its way inside.
Check out the video below to see how this simple process can be accomplished yourself.
确保定期检查房屋的结构（内外！），以确保一切仍处于良好状态。这应该作为常规综合害虫管理策略来完成。如果您尚未每隔几周一次实施一次，那么现在是开始的好时机！
Here’s acomprehensive checklist您可以关注您的家开始。
Fill In Access Entries And Hole With Caulk
If there are any holes or small openings in your home’s structure or around windows, caulk them up immediately!
Each unsealed hole presents an opportunity to become a point of entry for a small pest, or manipulated into a large entry point for an opossum, raccoon, rat, or mouse. By sealing up your home, you’re closing all the doors to the outside—as they should be.
确保那里没有任何消失
This is a highly unpleasant task, but one that must be accomplished nonetheless. Sometimes, nuisance animals sneak upstairs totally unbeknownst to homeowners, then die—still under the radar.
The only sign of their presence occurs when a scavenger appears to sniff out and consume the carcass. In this case, the opossum could very well be that scavenger.
Because opossums regularlyfeast on dead animals当有机会的时候，这是他们到来的主要因素并不罕见。如果负鼠闻到阁楼上腐烂的尸体，它将在那里沿着骨骼清洁。而且，由于负鼠会随着衰老而吃掉死动物，因此通常会消除通常与腐肉相关的腐烂气味。
Deal With the Opossum Itself
一旦找到将负鼠引导到家中的问题后，您就可以一劳永逸地开始努力将其赶出住所。
Take a look below at some of the best methods to ward off these nuisances and get your attic back!
Purchase a Trap
有几个oversized rodent traps andtraps for nuisance animals在市场上，可以用来限制在阁楼上扎根的负鼠。
这些陷阱使用附着在门和诱饵平台上的弹簧系统来工作。一旦负鼠爬到陷阱中捕捉诱饵后，门就会捕捉到它的后面，将其锁在里面。
For our recommendations on top traps, be sure to check out ourguide to opossum traps and cages.
Tidy Things Up
More often than not,游牧负鼠只是在寻找几个星期坠毁的地方。他们喜欢用无组织的空间制作巢穴，因为他们很可能会独自一人在这些地方。
If your attic is disorganized (and let’s be honest, most attics are), opossums see this as prime real estate to settle down and spend a few weeks or months. By cleaning things up, you’re removing the opportunity for the opossum to be left alone in its solitude. It will more than likely scurry away, as these animals are very shy and passive in nature.
为了进一步说明这一点，请查看该负鼠从陷阱中释放出整个夜晚时的反应。动物非常害怕人类放开它，以至于它似乎瘫痪了！
检查并密封松散的木板
负鼠可以进入阁楼或爬网空间的最简单方法之一是通过松散的筋膜板。By sealing up all the possible entryways in your home, you’re eliminating the methods an opossum can use to skirt its way inside.
Find A Local Exterminator
Call In a Professional
When all else fails,call someone trainedto handle these animals. It may cost you a few extra bucks, but in the end, you’ll be paying to have your opossum removed safely and securely.
In addition to that, you’ll get the peace of mind in knowing that your专业船员can offer you expert advice on how to prevent opossums from coming back in the future.
驱虫剂和威慑剂的卸妆剂
While there are a ton of驱虫剂anddeterrents针对负鼠和其他滋扰动物，您可以购买并用来将这些动物摇摆出去，我们不建议您即使在阁楼上也可以在家中使用它们。
Why is that?
好吧，这些产品通常采用不受欢迎的质量，例如香气，声音或光线来驱逐负鼠。例如：许多驱虫剂都是用掠食者的尿液制成的，这是刺激性的。在花园里，这没问题。在阁楼上，气味在通风孔和整个房屋内蜿蜒曲折。
Deterrents and repellents likeultrasonic repellers are effective，也许有点too很多;我们在这里仅作为一种选择，但我们完全不支持室内使用。
关于负台阁楼的最终想法
从阁楼上拿出负鼠可能有些棘手（这绝对需要一些额外的成功步骤），但可以做到。
The most important thing to remember is that the presence of these animals in the attic is often the first indication of a larger problem—an unsealed entry point somewhere, an unchecked food source out in the open, or both.
Make sure to locate these key aspects in your attic before driving the opossum out. In this way, the opossum is more like an alert to an issue than a nuisance animal!
