Whether thumping across corrugated iron roofs or sheltering in ceilings, brushtail and ringtail possums are one of the most common native animals in residential areas. The Brushtail and Ringtail Possums are well suited to living in suburbia. Trees and shrubs grown in our gardens provide a natural habitat for possums to thrive. If we were to ask some residents about possums in residential areas, the comments would not be very flattering with suggestions that these furry native Australians are noisy, smelly, garden destroying pests. Possums are native, nocturnal marsupials, which shelter in hollows during the day.
In cities and towns, possums take advantage of broken tiles, loose sheets of iron or unfinished work to shelter in ceilings or between floors of houses.
As possums live around people's houses, possums are one of the rare native mammals that continue to share space with people in urban areas.
Possums act as a house inspector – it only gains entry to homes that are in disrepair or have unfinished work.
You can take a few simple steps to make sure you don't come into conflict with possums. And, in doing so, you can build and enjoy a link with a member of Australia 's native wildlife.
Common in cities, possums will use just about any dark hollow for a home. In their natural habitat, possums live in fallen logs, tree trunks or dead branches.
Possums spend most of their time in the trees but travel a lot on the ground. Most possums have a major autumn and minor spring breeding season.
During the breeding period, possums become more territorial, as males use glands under their chin, on their chest and near the anus to scent-mark their territory.
Like all native wildlife, possums are protected. In urban areas, deaths caused by dogs and cars are the greatest threats to possums.
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But catching possums and releasing them in another area won't work. Trapped possums have to be released within 50m of their capture and they're often replaced by another nearby possum as soon as it's removed.
A permit is required to trap or remove possums. Some pest control professionals (including Sherlock Pest Control) are experienced in removing possums and are licensed to use harmless traps if required. If a possum is in a garden and eating the plants but does not enter the house, it is against the law to handle or trap the possum.
But the idea is to fix the house, not completely remove the possum from its habitat.
Removing possums from their habitat is cruel and unnecessary. Possum-proofing your house is the only ethical and moral approach.
Living Safely with Possums
To make sure your house is protected from possums, follow these simple steps.
- Find out where the possums are getting in and out. Cram loose wads of waste paper into suspected entry points during the day. After dark, the resident brushtail will push its way out, showing you where it gets in and out.
- Make repairs to prevent entry. This can be done at night 8-10pm when the possum is feeding.
- Splash the old entry areas liberally with a strong smelling substance such as disinfectant. The possum's scent glands will have marked the entries to its den. If you don't destroy the scent, the possum will try to re-enter the den.
- Seal the entry points.
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