Many people don’t like possums. These animals are known to enter your yard looking for food in the trash. These animals will knock over trash cans looking for a meal. 

Their keen sense of smell attracts them to your trash cans where they can eat a variety of foods. If they make their way onto your property, your garden isn’t safe either.

So, What do possums eat in the garden? This article looks into it. 

Possums eat both fruits and vegetables in your garden, common fruits and vegetables that will attract possums into your garden include strawberries, blackberries, bell peppers and, herbs  

What do possums eat in the garden?

Possums are omnivores, this means that they are able to eat both plant and animal matter. They have a varied diet and will eat anything available to them. 

They have been forced to move into human environments and they’ve had to find food in human environments as well. 

These animals eat a variety of vegetables in your garden, here are a few that they will eat: 

Tomatoes:

Tomatoes may not be a possum’s favorite food but if they can find these in your garden they will certainly eat them. Possums prefer this vegetable to other bland vegetables, like potatoes and carrots, because they are sweet 

Cucumbers:

Cucumbers are a juicy and crunchy vegetable that possums will happily eat from your garden. Many animals, including possums, enjoy the crunch that comes with eating cucumbers. 

Lettuce:

If offered some lettuce possums will eat it. This is a mild-tasting and refreshing vegetable that is very rich in water. It’s refreshing to not only humans but to possums as well. 

Carrots:

Carrots are another crunchy food that possums will eat in your garden, not only do possums enjoy carrots because they’re crunchy, they also enjoy carrots because they are sweet. 

Bell peppers:

Possums don’t enjoy hot vegetables like chili peppers, but they enjoy bell peppers. This vegetable does not contain capsaicin, thus they are not hot. There are different bell pepper varieties and they vary in flavor, some are even sweet and possums enjoy them. 

Strawberries:

Possums will eat a variety of fruits in the wild. They also enjoy eating fruits, like strawberries, from your garden. These animals will especially enjoy the sweet and juicy taste of strawberries 

Blackberries and raspberries:

This is another fruit that possums will eat in your garden, blackberries and raspberries will attract possums because of their sweet taste 

Cabbage:

This is a more bland-tasting vegetable to both humans and possums, but if this animal has nothing else to eat it will definitely eat your cabbage. 

Zucchini:

This vegetable is a plant that is commonly grown in gardens. It has a firm yet tender texture and buttery inner texture that is enjoyable to eat. Possums appreciate the slightly sweet, slightly mild flavor of zucchini. 

Herbs:

Herb gardens aren’t immune to being eaten by possums either. Herbs that possums enjoy eating include parsley, coriander, and basil. These animals have a strong sense of smell, if you have herbs in your garden possums will surely smell them and be drawn to them. 

Garden plants that possums will avoid:

Possums keep away from certain plants in vegetable gardens, vegetables that possums avoid include chili pepper, onions, and garlic. 

Garlic: Garlic has a strong smell even to humans, this strong smell is magnified in a possum’s nose. This strong garlic smell scares the possum away.

Onion: This is another strong-smelling plant that possums do not enjoy. The strong smell of onion overwhelms the animal’s senses and deters them from your garden. 

Chilli: Possums can smell chili and hot plants from a mile away, and they don’t like it. This smell is too overpowering for possums and will irritate their senses. They don’t enjoy the taste either 

Planting any of these plants in your garden is one way to keep them from wandering into and eating plants in your garden. Tips on how to use these plants to keep possums away are listed below 

Are possums good for a garden?

It’s true that possums can cause havoc in your garden, tearing up and eating your crops but they aren’t all bad. These animals can actually be beneficial to your garden in some way. 

Possums are beneficial as they eat a variety of snails, slugs, and insects in your garden. Insects can do damage in your garden if left to their own devices. Insects will cause the yellowing and browning of plants, cause wilting, create holes in your plants, or simply eat your plants and crops. 

Possums will eliminate insects in your garden by eating them. This allows your garden to grow with no disturbances. 

How do I keep possums out of my garden: 

Planting possum repelling herbs:

We know that possums detest the smell of garlic, chili pepper, and onion. If you’re looking to keep possums away you can plant these in your garden to repel possums.

Planting these crops along the perimeter of your garden will keep these marsupials away as they won’t want to get through the barrier to get to your other plants

Oil barrier: 

If you don’t want to wait for onions, chili peppers, and garlic to grow, you can opt to use oils around your garden to keep possums away. This follows the same premise of creating a strongly scented barrier around your garden plants.

In this case, the barrier is made of garlic, chili, or onion oil, this will keep these animals away. These oils need to be reapplied often to maintain their potency 

Cover the plants: 

An effective way to keep possums out would be to create a garden bed that encloses your plants. This makes gardening a bit of a hassle but not only will this keep possums out but it will keep other animals out as well. 

Do this by building a wood structure around your garden bed and then installing a hardware mesh on top. Don’t use chicken wire, possums and other predators can tear through the chicken wire.  

Scare tactics, repellents, and fences :

Easy to use, and install, scare tactics that will keep possums away include motion-activated lights, noisemakers, and a possum proof fence 

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, possums are attracted to both fruits and vegetables in your garden. Examples of fruits and vegetables that possums will eat in your garden include blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, zucchini, carrots, lettuce, and cucumber. 

Possums will be repelled by garlic, chili peppers, and onions in your garden. These plants have a strong smell that will irritate the animal’s senses. You can use this to your advantage and plant them or use their oils to keep possums away. 

You can also create an enclosed garden bed around your plants to keep possums out 

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other possum related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do Possums Eat Mice, Benefits, And Why They Prefer Not To, Do Possums Eat Carrots? Benefits,3 Reasons Why They’re Loved