Do Possums Live Underground? Where Opossums Actually Den

Opossums use burrows but almost never dig them. What they take over, why they move every few days, and how to tell an opossum hole from a groundhog's.

By Zakaria September 16, 2026 4 min read Save to Pinterest

An opossum gripping a bare branch above snow, its pale face turned toward the camera — Photo: Cody Pope, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

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Often yes — but they almost never dug it. The Virginia opossum is a tenant, not a builder, and that single fact answers most of what people are actually asking when they find a hole in the yard.

The short answer

Opossums frequently den underground but rarely dig their own burrows. They take over abandoned groundhog and skunk holes, hollow logs, rock and brush piles, and the spaces under decks, sheds and porches. Their feet are built for gripping and climbing, not excavating, so a fresh hole with a mound of spoil beside it is almost certainly a groundhog's rather than an opossum's. They also move den every few days to a couple of weeks, which is why one under a deck usually leaves on its own once the food and shelter appeal is removed.

They occupy burrows, they do not dig them
A fresh hole with a soil mound means groundhog, not opossum
They move every few days — a fixed den is unusual
Under decks and sheds is the classic suburban den
They eat ticks, slugs and carrion — a net positive in a yard

Where they actually den

In rough order of how often you will find one:

Under a deck, shed, porch or outbuilding — the suburban default
An abandoned groundhog or skunk burrow, taken over wholesale
Hollow logs and standing hollow trees
Brush piles, woodpiles and rock piles
Dense thickets and bramble
Garages, crawl spaces and barns, through a gap already there
Tree cavities — they climb well, with a prehensile tail for balance

The common thread is that something else made the space. An opossum’s forefeet are built for gripping and climbing; its hind feet have an opposable toe like a thumb. Neither is a digging tool.

Opossum or groundhog?

This is the question the hole in your lawn is really asking.

Reading a hole in the yard

	Opossum den	Groundhog burrow
Entrance size	Varies — uses what exists	10–12 in, consistent
Fresh spoil	None	Conspicuous mound of soil
Second entrance	Rare	Usual — a clean-edged plunge hole with no mound
Worn runs leading away	No	Yes, often obvious
Digging in lawn	Small cone-shaped divots from foraging	Not typical
Occupancy	Days to a couple of weeks	Months; a real home
Where	Under structures, in cavities	Open ground, field edges, beside foundations

Small cone-shaped divots are a different signal

Neat little cones scooped out of a lawn overnight are foraging holes — an animal working after grubs. Opossums, skunks and raccoons all do it. It means you have a grub population worth investigating, and fixing that usually ends the digging faster than chasing the animal.

Why they keep moving

An opossum has a home range with several den sites, not a home. It uses one for a few days, then switches. The behaviour makes sense for an animal with a huge list of predators and no ability to defend a burrow it did not dig.

The practical consequence is good news: an opossum under your deck is usually a short-term guest. The exception is a female with young in the pouch or riding on her back, who will settle for longer — and who is the reason never to seal a space in spring without checking.

Should you do anything about it?

Usually less than you think. Opossums are among the more useful animals to have passing through a yard:

They eat enormous numbers of ticks, along with slugs, snails, beetles, cockroaches and mice.
They clear carrion, including things you would rather not find.
They do not gnaw structures, cables or wiring the way rodents do.
They are not aggressive. The open-mouthed hiss is a bluff, and playing dead is an involuntary shock response, not a decision.
They very rarely carry rabies, because their body temperature is low enough to be inhospitable to the virus.

The genuine downsides are smell, a latrine area near the den, and the risk of an animal dying somewhere you cannot reach.

Moving one along, properly

Never seal a den before you know it is empty

Sealing a space with an animal inside is how a minor nuisance becomes a dead animal under your deck in July. And in spring, a sealed den means a litter starving in an inaccessible cavity. Check first, every time.

Remove the reason. Pet food indoors, bins latched, fallen fruit cleared, compost secured, grills cleaned. This is most of the job.
Make the space unpleasant. A work light at the entrance and a radio on talk radio for a few nights. Opossums prefer dark and quiet, and they have somewhere else to be.
Confirm it has gone. Pack the entrance loosely with newspaper, or dust flour across it, and check for two or three consecutive undisturbed nights.
Then exclude. Hardware cloth around the deck skirt, buried 8 to 12 inches and turned outward in an L at the bottom so nothing pushes underneath.
Leave trapping alone. Relocation is illegal in many states, usually fatal to the animal, and pointless — the empty space simply attracts the next one. Fix the space instead.

Common questions

Do possums live underground?

Often, but they almost never dig the hole themselves. The Virginia opossum is an opportunist that takes over abandoned groundhog and skunk burrows, hollow logs, rock piles, brush piles, and the spaces under decks, sheds and porches. Its feet are built for gripping and climbing rather than excavating, so a fresh burrow with a mound of spoil in your yard is far more likely to be a groundhog's.

Do opossums dig burrows?

Not as a rule. They will scratch out and enlarge an existing hole, and they dig shallowly while foraging for grubs and worms, which leaves small cone-shaped divots in lawns. But they do not excavate the multi-chamber tunnel systems that groundhogs and badgers do. If something has dug a 10 to 12 inch hole with a fan of fresh soil beside it, look for a groundhog.

How can I tell an opossum den from a groundhog burrow?

Look at the spoil and the shape. A groundhog burrow is 10 to 12 inches across with a conspicuous mound of excavated soil, often with a second clean-edged plunge hole nearby and worn runs radiating out. An opossum's den is usually an existing cavity with no fresh spoil at all — under a deck, in a woodpile, in a hollow tree — and the entrance looks worn rather than dug. Opossums also leave no established runs, because they rarely stay put.

Do possums stay in the same den?

Rarely. An opossum typically uses a den for a few days to a couple of weeks and then moves on, working a home range with multiple den sites rather than a fixed home. Females with young in the pouch are the main exception and will settle for longer. This is why an opossum under a deck usually resolves itself: leave the space unattractive and it will move along on its own schedule.

Are opossums under a deck a problem?

Usually much less than people fear. They do not chew structures or wiring, they are not aggressive, and they eat enormous numbers of ticks, slugs, snails, beetles and carrion. Their body temperature is also too low to make them a good rabies host, so they very rarely carry it. The real downsides are smell, the mess of a latrine area, and the possibility of an animal dying in an inaccessible space.

How do I get an opossum out from under a deck or shed?

Make the space unwelcoming and give it an exit. Remove the food that drew it — pet food, fallen fruit, unsecured bins — then introduce light, noise or a radio at the entrance for a few nights. Confirm it has left using loosely packed newspaper or a sprinkling of flour at the opening, and only then seal the gap with hardware cloth buried several inches down. Never seal a den in spring without checking for young, and never handle one yourself.

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An opossum gripping the top edge of a wooden fence at night

Backyard Animals · Sep 6, 2026