Possums

[duncan_m]

One of my houses has some possums in the ceiling space :( I've found where they're getting in.. I'm unsure what to do.. wait till late at night and board it up?

Its a big house, big ceiling space with lots of nooks and crannies.. Even if only one possums get locked in when I board it up its going to be messy :(

Any tips from previous possum dealings anyone?

[keithj]

One of my houses has some possums in the ceiling space :( I've found where they're getting in.. I'm unsure what to do.. wait till late at night and board it up?

Its a big house, big ceiling space with lots of nooks and crannies.. Even if only one possums get locked in when I board it up its going to be messy :(

Any tips from previous possum dealings anyone?WIRES will lend you a possum trap for free - discuss it with them.

[Thommo]

What do you do when you catch them?

Up here you get a severe reprimand from both RSPCA and parks/wildlife dept. for re-locating them.

There is a long thread on this subject, but sadly my reccollection is that it is more amusing than instructive.

Thommo

[geoffw]

There is a long thread on this subject, but sadly my reccollection is that it is more amusing than instructive. And that thread was also started by yourself.

To make up for misleading the last thread, here's a couple of links

Possums in your roof (http://www.balgownievet.com.au/1_exot_possums.htm)

http://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/content/content.asp?cid=387&tid=387&tpid=366&sid=&spid=&cnid=1091

[duncan_m]

And that thread was also started by yourself.

To make up for misleading the last thread, here's a couple of links

Possums in your roof (http://www.balgownievet.com.au/1_exot_possums.htm)

http://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/content/content.asp?cid=387&tid=387&tpid=366&sid=&spid=&cnid=1091


Thands guys.. Geoff that first link was great.. some good suggestions in there.. spreading mothballs around, leaving a light going.. etc.

Much appreciated!

[geoffw]

And that thread was also started by yourself.Sorry, that was Thommo who started the other thread (http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14963).

I've had some interesting experiences with city possums. I was living in a terrace in North Sydney many years ago. A flatmate had made Crhristmas puddings which she had hung out to mature, on the long clothes line. We discovered that a possum was walking the length of the line to get at those Christmas puds.

I was at a theatre in Cremorne once, watching a movie. It was getting to a very tense moment, one of those with a long buildup. There was a possum walking around the theatre- people were starting to talk and giggle. The possum apparently found the only person in the theatre who was not aware of its presence- just as the dramatic moment came, that audience found the possum getting into her handbag. She screamed, and the audience burst out laughing.

Getting back to the original topic- the article mentions that possums cannot be removed more than 50 metres from the house. It does make me wonder- how could thaey tell if you took it a tad further away?

My parents did have a possum problem, from memory, I believe they hired a possum trap from the RSPCA, which was successful in trapping the possum. The bushland was 100m away. They had no further problems.

[Ecogirl]

Hey Dunc
You could get a carpet snake to take care of them :D

Ecowise

[geoffw]

You could get a carpet snake to take care of them :D That would have to be one extremley big carpet snake!

May be you need a car pet instead- http://www.somersoft.com/forums/gallery/data/504/21car_pet.jpg

[duncan_m]

That would have to be one extremley big carpet snake!

May be you need a car pet instead- http://www.somersoft.com/forums/gallery/data/504/21car_pet.jpg


You call that a cat? :)

THIS is a cat :

http://www.tigers-animal-actors.com/about/liger/ligerstand.JPG

A liger (http://www.tigers-animal-actors.com/about/liger/liger.html#liger).

A carpet snake sounds like a cool option too Ecogirl :)

[blossomoz]

It's an offense to kill possums. If you relocate them they will usually die as they don't have a territory & the 'resident' possums will kill them. I didn't know this year ago when we relocated some possums. A mother & 2 babies fell down the chimney!!!

Remember to fill all the holes to prevent re-entry. If someone has recently cut down a tree nearby, it may have been the possum's home. If you have a place to put a possum box they will be happy to live there.

Cheers
blossomoz