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Oregon statewide

Dead Opossum Removal in Oregon

Call for Dead Animal Removal πŸ“ž (503) 213-6864 Tap to callPrice and availability settled on the call

Private-property removal Β· Phone quote before any visit Β· Independent operators where one covers your address.

Dead opossum removal on private property in Oregon, from under a porch or deck, beneath a shed floor or at the far end of a crawl space. Multnomah County will not collect one, and Washington County refers one inside city limits to city public works.

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Quick answer

Who handles dead opossum removal in Oregon?

Where the animal is lying answers this until the pavement ends. On an Interstate, US route or Oregon state highway it is ODOT's Carcass Collection Program, reached through Ask ODOT on 1-888-275-6368; an animal that cannot be moved off the road safely is a 911 call. On a county-maintained road, the county, and Jackson County names skunks, raccoons and birds among the wildlife it handles case by case. A city street belongs to the city, on whatever it publishes. Private ground belongs to the owner, and Multnomah County states plainly that it "is unable to pick up small wildlife". Past that property line no Oregon agency we found has a role, so Oregon Dead Animal Removal routes the call by ZIP to an independent operator where one covers the address, and whether this situation can be taken on, and the price, are settled on the call. Call (503) 213-6864.

What the job involves

What dead opossum removal covers, and what it does not

An opossum

A dead opossum under your porch, deck or shed floor, or at the back of the crawl space, is yours to arrange in Oregon, and Multnomah County names opossums among the small wildlife its officers cannot pick up. ODFW lists the species as invasive, apparently descended from released pets and novelties. A cornered live one can go limp and then walk off, so the first job is checking it is dead.

The field work belongs to independent operators. Each holds their own permits and insurance and answers for the disposal route. Oregon's regime for that work is ODFW's Wildlife Control Operator permit, which sits with the operator and never with this site. What any individual operator is willing to take on surfaces in the conversation, not on this page.

Whose job is a dead opossum in Oregon?

Where it is lying decides it, and Jackson County Roads writes the boundary down in one sentence: the roads it manages "differ from city streets, state highways, and private roads or private property." The state system runs as a maintenance program rather than a statutory duty, and no Oregon statute we located pushes any of this onto a homeowner's yard.

  • Interstates, US routes and Oregon state highways: ODOT, through a Carcass Collection Program that picks up roadkill on major state roadways and records carcass data to find collision hot spots. The published way in is Ask ODOT on 1-888-275-6368; there is no carcass-specific hotline. Move the animal off the road only if it is safe, and call 911 if it cannot be moved safely.
  • County-maintained roads: the county road department. Jackson County handles "wildlife such as deer, elk, skunks, raccoons, and birds … on a case-by-case basis" on its own roads; Washington County routes deer, elk or livestock in a public road right-of-way to its Land Use & Transportation operations division.
  • City streets, the curb strip, parks and bike paths: the city, under whatever it publishes. Eugene defines its right-of-way for residents and collects there on 541-682-4800. Each city page quotes its own wording.
  • Your own ground, from the side lot to the crawl space: yours to arrange. Eugene states that "the property owner is responsible for disposal"; Multnomah County requires an animal in a private area to be "moved to the public right of way for pickup" and says it "is unable to pick up small wildlife" at all. ORS 601.140's 15-hour rule reaches a domestic animal a keeper owned or had in charge, not wildlife you found. That last case, the one with no agency behind it, is the reason this site exists.

The agency-by-agency breakdown, with the quotes, is in the guide to who removes dead animals in Oregon.

Step by step

A dead opossum removal call, start to finish

  1. Tell us where the smell is strongest. ODFW's manual lists old buildings and brush piles among opossum dens, so check the crawl space, the void under a porch and beneath a shed first.
  2. Make sure it has not moved since you first saw it, and keep dogs and children away from it while you wait.
  3. If an operator can take the address, the body is reached through the hatch, a foundation vent or a skirting panel, with nothing cut.
  4. It is bagged and lifted out, and the soil or sheeting under it is cleaned and treated.
  5. A live opossum is outside this line; ODFW publishes a list of Wildlife Control Operators for that.
Cost in Oregon

Who sets the price for a dead opossum removal

The figure is assembled during the call by whoever would attend, once the animal, its position, the access and the disposal are all known. It is not an hourly rate. No figure appears on this page either. It belongs to the operator who takes the job, and a number typed in to fill the space would bind a person who never agreed to it.

The figure is agreed on the call. The invoice is raised by whoever carries out the work, and never by this site.

When to call

What waiting costs you

Sooner is cheaper. Whatever the animal is resting on takes up the fluids, and crawl space soil, insulation and framing all hold them, so each additional day generally means more material has to be bagged or treated alongside the carcass. One question comes ahead of this one: where somebody in the house or a pet has been in contact with a raccoon or a skunk, that belongs to a vet or a local health department first.

Questions

What callers ask about dead opossum removal

Does Multnomah or Washington County pick up a dead opossum?
Multnomah County does not. It lists opossums among seventeen kinds of small wildlife its officers cannot collect, wherever the animal lies. Washington County collects dead cats and dogs itself; for a wild animal inside city limits, the opossum among its named examples, it tells residents to call their city's public works department. Its page is silent on wildlife outside city limits, and what each city does after the referral we have not checked.
It has not moved since last night. Could the opossum still be alive?
Not from playing dead. ODFW's Wildlife Control Operator manual describes an opossum playing dead as rolling onto its side, going limp, shutting its eyes and letting its tongue hang out, its heartbeat slowed. It calls this a brief nervous shock and says the animal soon recovers and escapes at the first opportunity. Before moving it, check that it is not breathing and that flies have found it, then lift it with a shovel, never bare hands.
Does it matter that opossums are not native to Oregon?
For a live one, yes. ODFW lists the Virginia opossum among prohibited species that have to be put down and may not be let go where they were caught, and its urban wildlife guide names the opossum among nonnative animals that are illegal to release. That is why a live opossum goes to ODFW's Wildlife Control Operator list and stays off this line.
Is a dead opossum dangerous to handle?
Opossums are not a rabies vector species. ODFW's manual calls them very resistant to rabies, though the disease can occur in them. The same manual lists the opossum among animals that can carry leptospirosis and shed it in urine, and names fleas, ticks and mites among its parasites. Multnomah County's handling rule is gloves, a facemask where needed, and a shovel or other tool between your hands and the animal.
What brought an opossum under my porch?
Food, most likely. OSU Extension's bulletin on nuisance wildlife says dog and cat food left outside is the biggest draw behind the raccoon, skunk and opossum calls ODFW receives, and ODFW's own manual adds unsecured garbage, compost and fallen fruit. The manual describes opossums as nomadic with no fixed home range, and its prevention list includes closing openings to crawl spaces. Whether the operator seals the gap afterwards is worth asking on the call.
Can I remove a dead opossum myself?
Often, if you can reach it. ODFW puts adults at four to twelve pounds, averaging about six, so a shovel and a few bags are enough. Multnomah County's method is to lift it into a bag with a tool, seal that inside two more bags and put it out with the rubbish, or drive it triple-bagged to one of Metro's transfer stations, which charge a fee. People tend to call once reaching the body means crawling in after it.
Can someone come out for an opossum at my address?
Calls route by ZIP where an operator covers the address. This page names no county or town as covered, and whether your address can be taken gets answered once you ring. Where an operator can take it, they quote and invoice you directly. Where nobody can, Multnomah County's bagging method above still applies.

Statewide questions on law, safety and process are on the Oregon FAQ.

Dead Opossum Removal in Oregon: the rest happens on the phone

One description is enough. Availability for the address and the figure are both settled while you are on the line.

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