POSSUM PROBLEMS

With the trend to plant more natives in our gardens and with the clearing of much of the previous bushland in most areas, more and more possums are moving to the suburbs. Possums are well suited to living in an around our homes and yards, and most people find that they can enjoy and appreciate sharing their lives with these animals and take great pleasure in watching them from afar.

However possums, usually Brushtail possums, can cause problems for homes and homeowners. Whilst possums would prefer to live in a natural environment, they are opportunist and a ceiling space or shed makes just as nice a home too. Possums usually gain access to a roof space or ceiling via loose roofing tiles or roofing iron, broken fascia board or eaves, loose guttering or roof capping and holes in the brickwork or timber. Possums can usually be heard running with heavy thumping footsteps around in the ceiling early evening or morning when they are going out or returning from eating. They may also be heard to make guttural growling and hissing. Another and more obvious sign is a urine stain on the ceiling.

If you believe you have possums in the ceiling it will be necessary for you to find out how they are accessing your ceiling and try to exclude them. The best way to do this is watch for them emerging after dark and block off their entry point. If they are using trees to gain access to the roof, trim trees back or make an exclusion collar around the trunk of the tree about 60 cms above the ground of a 60 cm wide strip of metal or Perspex. This will allow them to climb down the tree to exit, but not allow them to return. The only way to stop the possum re entering you roof space is to ensure that they do not have access to it.

HUMANE POSSUM TRAPPING

Sometimes it may prove more efficient to humanly trap a possum in the roof space to ensure their safe removal. Wildlife Answers does hold the necessary permit and skills to trap and release possums from a dwelling and we can undertake a site inspection to ascertain if a trapping program is a suitable course of action. If required. Wildlife Answers will conduct a safe-capture program to remove a possum from a ceiling or residence, however the cost and responsibility for any roof repairs to prevent the return of the possum is separate to this program and at the expense of the homeowner.

Removal of the possum from your dwelling does not constitute removal from your property. On the contrary, under the guidelines of this permit the animal can only be held until the next nightfall and can only be released within 25 metres of the trapped area.