Playing possum can be a good thing, except when the possums are actually running around (or faking death) in your living room! Also, possums are the kind of species that you want to use the proper channels of eviction for. They like to hide inside your roof, invade the kitchen at night and are territorial creatures.
The thing with territorial animals is they’re a lot like gangs. They’re good at spotting prime hangouts, so if you remove one possum from its newfound lair inside your house, another one will often take its place, now that the previous resident has spruced it up and made it possum-friendly. It’s a bit like a furnished possum apartment at this point. So, you need to restrict access then make sure its former territory is less cosy for new guests.
Are you sure it’s a possum?
Ensuring that the pest is a possum is an essential step in pest management. Why? Well, for one thing, marsupials and rodents look (and sound) the same in the dark. And, if it’s a rat, a whole different strategy will need to be employed
Plan your process well, because one, possums are nocturnal, so you have to be ready to rehome it around sunset. Two, if they stay in the open too long, they’ll die, so you have to keep them roughly 150 metres from where you find them. Three, if they don’t have a tree or new home close to the spot you release them, they’ll zap back to your roof.
Find your household pest a new home
Pour some flour near the suspected pest location. It won’t scare away the visitors, but you can look at their footsteps in the flour. Bigger claw prints suggest a possum. Once you’re sure what you’re dealing with, you have to find a new home for it and you will need assistance for this process. They like high, dark, cosy spaces, so build a possum house or buy one online and put it in a nearby tree, far enough from your roof, and about 4 metres high.
Set up a stake-out to see how the possum gets in and out of your roof. When it goes off foraging for food, get into your roof and put in some DIY repellent. Install a bright light for three days, and add hardware store quassia chips, naphthalene, or camphor (but never both). Once the possum is gone, block its access point with wood or chicken wire.
Possums may be furry, but they don’t like the rain, so during our drizzly months of winter, there’s a big chance they’ll sneak into your house where it’s warm, dry, and there’s free food. Also, all possums are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act), and it is illegal to kill or catch and release them without a licence, so when these unwanted bush animals make their way into your home, it’s time to call CPS. Our residential pest control service will solve that problem for you.
To remove possums and other unwanted wildlife, call CPS today on 1300 395 769.
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