Mitten Wildlife

Michigan wildlife & pest directory — connecting homeowners with licensed local providers.

Opossum Removal Help in Paw Paw, MI

Van Buren County Pop. 3,526 Year-round — active even in winter, though they shelter during cold snaps
Before you call: Mitten Wildlife doesn't carry out removals itself. It's a directory, and tapping the button below puts you in touch with a licensed wildlife removal provider working in your area.
Call (888) 217-4913

Available providers vary by location and time of day.

State-licensed pros We only route calls to Michigan state-licensed professionals
Local to your area Companies that work across Van Buren County
No cost to homeowners No fee to use this directory

Opossums in Paw Paw

Paw Paw is a rural village whose primary crop is grapes — St. Julian Winery and Warner Vineyards both started here, and the orchards and vineyards lining Van Buren County back roads leave fallen fruit and brush piles that draw foraging opossums into garages and crawlspaces year-round. Opossums run a body temperature too low to be efficient rabies hosts: none among Michigan's 55 confirmed positives in 2023, and Van Buren County has no recent cases on record. Most are transient attic guests rather than entrenched colonists, though fleas come along for the ride. The directory connects 49079 homeowners and nearby Lawton, Mattawan, and Bloomingdale with licensed Paw Paw wildlife-removal pros who handle live trapping and entry-point sealing.

Local context: Nearest state park: Van Buren State Park (21.8 mi). Nearest forest area: Allegan State Game Area (21.4 mi).

Rabies and disease risk

Michigan's 2023 totals: 55 animals tested positive for rabies, with the majority being bats (34) and skunks (19). YTD 2026 (through 2026-05-29) shows 15 positive animals statewide, still mostly bats.

Van Buren County has not had reported rabies-positive animals in MI DHHS surveillance for 2023 or YTD 2026.

A lower body temperature than most mammals means opossums make poor hosts for rabies. They may, however, carry leptospirosis as well as ticks and fleas, so handle their droppings with care.

Source: Michigan DHHS Emerging & Zoonotic Infectious Diseases rabies surveillance maps.

Signs you have a opossum problem

  • Tracks resembling handprints with five toes (including an opposable thumb on the hind feet) pressed into soft soil
  • Pet food bowls or trash cans left outside overnight that get disturbed
  • Loud, heavy footfalls on the roof or in the attic after dark — opossums are much louder than raccoons or squirrels
  • Snuffling or hissing sounds; opossums hiss when they are startled
  • An opossum that looks unconscious or dead — they will 'play possum' for hours at a time when threatened

What to do right now

  1. Avoid cornering an opossum — when trapped, they may bite, though aggressive behavior is uncommon.
  2. For ongoing nesting under decks, in attics, or in crawl spaces, contact a licensed wildlife removal provider for humane trapping and exclusion.
  3. Remove the attractant by keeping pet food and garbage indoors at night.
  4. When one is inside a garage or outbuilding, prop open an exit door and leave; most will let themselves out within hours.

Michigan regulations

Michigan permits opossum exclusion by homeowners when carried out with non-lethal methods; lethal trapping requires a license.

Connect with a provider: (888) 217-4913

Calls are routed to participating licensed providers in your area.

Common questions — Opossum in Paw Paw

What's the typical price for opossum removal?
Opossum jobs in Paw Paw generally run $150-$400, which is on the lower end of the wildlife-removal spectrum. The reason is biological: opossums are usually transient visitors rather than entrenched nesters, and many leave on their own within a few nights if you simply close the food source. Licensed pros price toward the bottom of that range for a single visit with a live trap and toward the top when access to a crawlspace or deck skirt requires structural work to seal properly.
Should I just call Van Buren County animal control?
Animal control in Van Buren County and the village of Paw Paw is set up for stray pets, dog bites, and public-safety incidents — not wildlife inside homes. There is no public animal control phone number listed for Paw Paw village, and the county does not advertise a wildlife hotline. For an opossum in your garage, crawlspace, or under a deck, a licensed private wildlife removal pro is the right route. The exception is a confirmed bite or scratch, which goes to MDHHS first.
What if the opossum has babies?
Female opossums carry joeys on their backs once the young are out of the pouch, so unlike raccoons or squirrels, you rarely have stranded babies left behind in the attic when the mother is trapped. The whole family typically moves together. That said, if a pro removes a mother and any joey drops off in transit, Michigan law requires reuniting young with the mother or routing them to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. This is uncommon in practice.
Is an opossum on my property an emergency?
Almost never. Opossums run a body temperature too low to host rabies efficiently — none appear in Michigan's 55 confirmed 2023 positives — and their defense is playing dead, not biting. They are slow, nocturnal, non-aggressive, and frequently move on within a few days if a yard food source is removed. The reasonable approach is to secure garbage and pet food overnight first; if the animal is still hanging around after a week or has clearly denned up under a deck, then call a pro.
What kind of follow-up work do I need after removal?
Less than with raccoons or bats, but not zero. Opossums leave behind droppings and sometimes fleas or ticks. Standard post-removal work in Paw Paw includes sealing the entry under the deck, crawlspace, or shed with hardware cloth buried a few inches into the soil to discourage re-entry, removing soiled bedding, and a light decontamination pass. Insulation replacement is rarely needed unless a long-term stay went undetected. Ask whether sealing and cleanup are included in the trap fee before scheduling.

Also covering nearby

Call (888) 217-4913