Tag Archives: possum control

Is it bad to have possums in your roof?

They’re cute, fluffy, native animals… so how could it be bad to have possums living in your roof? Well, put simply, they just are. There are a bunch of reasons why it’s not ideal to have possums in your roof, including the state of your home and your personal health. In this post, we’re going to give you just a few reasons why you can’t keep possums in your roof and why you must call a professional to safely remove them.

They’re noisy!

Imagine you’re resting in a peaceful slumber in the middle of the night. Then, suddenly, you hear a barrage of little feet barrelling across your roof. Then comes the screeching, the scratching and the rest of the cacophony. That’s not the sound of a miniature zombie apocalypse – that’s the sound of possums wreaking havoc on your roof.

Possibly one of the worst possum noises occurs when they get underneath your floors. The scratching and hissing sounds are so close, as if you were watching a horror movie on Netflix. If possums were able to get into your roof, the last thing you want is them getting under your floors too.

Damaging to your home

Another reason why it’s bad to have possums in your roof is that they can cause damage to your home. Possums are known to break roof tiles, damage ceilings and chew on electrical wires. These problems are all expensive ones to fix, and the longer it goes on, the more you’ll have to pay in repairs once the possums are caught and released.

Droppings

Not only can they cause structural damage to your property, but they’ll disrespect the heck out of your home while they’re there too. You know the saying, “don’t crap where you eat”? Possums are crapping where you eat. Possum droppings in your roof are unhygienic and are an invitation for other insects attracted to the smell. Removing the possums means removing the doo-doo that they leave all over your home.

On top of this, possum urine has a very distinct and pungent smell. Like cat urine, it’s incredibly hard to get rid of and requires cleaning and ventilating. The longer you allow possums to inhabit your roof, the harder it will be to get rid of the foul odour.

What to do if possums are in your roof

Now that you know why it’s bad to have possums in your roof, it’s time to do something about it. Calling a professional possum removalist like Peter the Possum Man is the most effective way of getting the possums out and making sure they can’t come back. The team at Peter the Possum Man will locate the entry points, humanely and safely remove the possums, block the entry points, repair any damage and release the possums back into the wild. With over 75 years of experience, they can make it seem as if the possums were never there, so contact Peter the Possum Man today.

How to possum proof your roof

We love our possums in Australia. How could you not? They’re beautiful, they’re curious and they’re an iconic part of Australian life. Although they’re great, we just don’t appreciate it when they decide to move in. They can be noisy, leave bad smells and cause damage to your home. Thankfully, there are a few ways to possum proof your roof so that you can express your love for possums from a good, safe distance.

Prune nearby branches

If you have tall trees next to your roof, possums will likely be able to gain access to your roof via nearby branches. Keeping on top of their length will make it harder for possums to climb onto your roof and make the racket they’re so well known for making. You should leave this job to an expert, as they’ll be able to tell you which branches the possums are using to climb onto your roof and they’ll also be able to prune the branches safely. Given it involves working from a height, this presents a hazard and so an expert will have the correct safety equipment for the job.

Possum repellents

Another way to possum proof your roof is to use a repellent. There are quite a few repellents for possums on your roof, so it might be worth trying one. These repellents work on either the possums’ sense of smell or taste. Tabasco sauce has been said to be an effective repellent, and others have found Quassia chips to be the best method. The results of using possum repellents have been inconsistent, with some reporting that it works a treat and others saying it doesn’t do much. Still, it’s a worthwhile attempt of possum proofing your roof.

Spotlights

If you’re worried about a particular spot on your roof that possums may be able to gain access to, it might be worth installing a spotlight there to possum proof your roof. Possums don’t like bright lights, so they’re likely to steer clear if a spotlight suddenly flashes at them.

The best way to possum proof your roof

There is only one way to absolutely guarantee that possums won’t make your roof their home. This is to call an expert like the ones at Peter the Possum Man. They find areas of your roof that possums are likely to enter and block them off, preventing possums from gaining access. They’ll also inspect other areas of your roof and explain what needs to be done to make it 100% possum proof. With over 75 years of experience in possum proofing homes in Australia, they’ll fix it once, fix it fast and fix it well.

How much does it cost to remove a possum?

Possums are kind of like sharks. Well, not really. But think about sharks being amazing, beautiful creatures that are fascinating to watch, and yet you never want to get too close to them. Possums are like that: obviously, for different reasons. So, if you’ve got a possum problem in your home, it’s absolutely necessary that you hire a professional to handle it. Since it’s not a service that you pay for regularly, it’s understandable that one question is lingering in your mind… how much does it cost to remove a possum? Let’s go through a few factors that determine how much it will cost for possum removal.

The repairs that need doing

Catching and releasing a possum is easy – it’s fixing the mess that it caused which can be time-consuming. If your possum removalist inspects your home and finds that the possums have been quite polite and haven’t caused much damage, the service as a whole will cost less than if the possums were being naughty.

When possums are being naughty, they can get up to a fair bit of mischief. Roofs, ceilings and electrical wires are the most common parts of your home which possums are likely to damage. If the possums in your roof have broken roof tiles or damaged your ceiling, then a good possum removalist will be able to replace and repair where possible. This necessary service will cost a bit more to complete.

A good possum removalist will also inspect your gables. If they need repointing due to possum damage, this will also contribute to the cost of your possum removal.

 The number of access points

If there are more than a single access point, then more work will need to be done and it will, in turn, cost more to effectively remove the possums. Each access point needs to be sealed off with proper equipment, materials and workmanship. Of course, all access points must be sealed, otherwise, your possum problems will persist.

Where the possums are located

Where the possums are located in your home – on the roof or under the house – determines how much the removal service will cost. There are different methods and different equipment that must be used in each circumstance, and this will affect the cost of the operation.

Who you hire

Finally, hiring the right team for the job will also affect the cost of removing a possum. The experts at Peter the Possum Man provide competitive prices for all of their services, ensuring you are permanently rid of your possum issues while saving you a buck. With over 75 years’ experience, they know that keeping customers happy lies in fair pricing and the best quality service. If you want to know how much it costs for a team of highly experienced professionals to remove possums from your home, call Peter the Possum Man for a quote and inspection today.

How do I stop possums getting on my roof?

Possums may be cute, fluffy and iconic Australian animals, but the last thing you want is for them to make your roof their home or their playground. If there’s a possum on your roof, we can pretty much guarantee you’ll know about it. The screeching, the scratching, the scampering of little feet across your roof… all these sounds are bound to wake up even the heaviest of sleepers. Luckily, there are ways you can stop possums getting on your roof and that’s what we’re going to discuss today.

Blocking off openings

A professional possum removalist will look for openings and entry points to stop possums from getting on your roof. They know where to look and know the common entry points for possums in suburban neighbourhoods. This will stop the possums from moving into your place, rent-free. Possums cause damage to your property when they move into your roof, like breaking roof tiles, chewing electrical wires and damaging ceilings. Getting a possum removalist to block the entry points will make sure that this won’t happen.

Lights with motion sensors

Your possum expert may also suggest a motion sensor-activated spotlight as a way to keep possums from getting on your roof. Possums hate bright lights. When a possum crosses the sensor, the light will activate and frighten the possum away. Talk to a possum removalist before buying one, to see whether this is a suitable option for you.

Repellents

If you’re more worried about the possums using your roof as a playground at night, then one way to stop them may be to use a repellent. Though the results of possum repellents have been inconsistent, it’s an easy and worthwhile method of trying to stop them from getting on your roof. From garden fertilizers to natural products like Quassia chips and household products like Tabasco sauce, there are a range of repellents that have been known to work on possums. Consult your possum expert before investing in a repellent.

Remove food

Possums are attracted to the smell of food. If your garbage bins are easy to access or your pet’s food is left outside, the possums are more likely to be attracted to your home and, therefore, your roof. Securing your bins and taking your pet’s food inside at night are good ways to deter possums from your home.

The best way to stop possums getting on your roof is to simply call a possum removalist like Peter the Possum Man and let them take care of it for you. A possum professional will know all the right ways to stop possums wreaking havoc on your roof. This is the only way to guarantee that your roof is free from possums, for good. Contact the expert team at Peter the Possum Man for the most effective possum proofing service.

How do I get rid of possums?

Possums may look cute and may be an Australian icon, but we should all be able to appreciate them from a distance. Having possums in your roof or underneath your floor is an irritating problem. Not only are they noisy but they can also damage your home.

Getting rid of possums from your home can be complicated. There are a few reasons why doing it yourself can be more trouble than it’s worth. So, in this post we’re going to tell you the best way to get rid of possums and why it’s best to call in a professional.

Possums are native animals

Possums being native animals doesn’t just imply that there is a strong sense of patriotism attached to them. It means there are certain laws that protect them and that indicate how you can deal with them if they’re wreaking havoc in your home. The laws differ slightly from state to state, but here’s a break down of some laws around trapping possums:

  • Some states require you to have a license to trap a possum.
  • You must use a cage that won’t harm the possum in the process, usually available through pest control businesses or wildlife rescue services.
  • Once trapped, they must not be kept in direct sunlight or in rainy or windy conditions. They mustn’t be kept in the presence of domestic pets.
  • You must release the possum on the same day it’s caught, after sunset.
  • You must not release the possum more than 50 metres away from your property. It is illegal to relocate a possum as they will not survive in a new territory.

There are penalties for breaking the rules

Breaking any of these rules around trapping and releasing possums can result in fines. We’re not talking about a slap on the wrist either; breaking these laws can result in a fine of up to $7,500. So while it is possible to trap and release possums on your own, it may not even permanently solve your possum problem, and further, getting it wrong could cost you, big time.

Permanently getting rid of possums in a safe, ethical and cost-effective way

The best way to get rid of possums from your home is simple: call a professional possum removalist. An expert possum removal team like the one at Peter the Possum Man will talk you through the process of making sure your possums are kept away from your house for good. This involves locating the possum nest, blocking off entry points to your roof or under your floor, trapping the possums and releasing them safely. Then, you can appreciate our native bush critters without them being too close. The team at Peter the Possum Man have over 75 years’ experience in removing possums, so to get rid of your possum issues, give them a call today.

Finding the best possum deterrent

Possums are often seen as major pests due to the damage they can cause and disease that they can spread. There’s no doubt if you have a possum in your roof or walls it can cause major issues and keep you awake at night. Not to mention the damage that they can cause to your garden and trees. But its important to also remember that in Victoria and South Australia there are 13 protected species of possums including the common brushtail possum and its super cute ringtail cousin.

Peter The Possum Man loves possums!

Its a common misconception that capturing a possum and moving it to another location will get rid of your possum troubles. Usually when this happens the poor possum starves to death as its often released into a foreign territory where they are unable to compete with the possums already established there and other possums will just move in to replace the one that you have removed. It’s also illegal to move possums more than 50 metres from your building (under the Wildlife act 1975). At Peter The Possum Man we treat captured possums gently and respectfully to ensure that they are not put under any more stress than is necessary. When we release them we look for suitable trees to release them into. If suitable trees cannot be found we can supply a Possum Box. Finally the most important thing is to ensure the possum cannot return to your roof and so we block all entry points.

How to get rid of possums

Possums are naturally found throughout Australian suburbs and as they are a protected species under the Wildlife act 1975 which prohibits trapping or eradication without a license, they can be a difficult pest to remove which can damage your property and spreads disease.

This means the best way of removing them is to Peter the Possum Man on 1300933789 as we are fully licensed to catch and remove possums from your property.

Once caught caged possums are released on site in accordance with the conditions of our Wildlife Control License which recognises that possums generally do not survive relocation.

Possum Deterrent

Once possums have been removed from your building we make sure all entry points are blocked and inaccessible. Its important to setup an alternative for the possum so nesting boxes can be used if they don’t have an appropriate alternative.

Urban Aussies have this little problem living with possums

MELBOURNE, Australia

After a night of noisy sex, heavy breathing, snarling spats and much scampering to and fro, the couple upstairs settles into a sunrise slumber as our bleary-eyed homeowner is roused from a fitful sleep by a smell that isn’t fresh-brewed coffee.

Enough already! It’s time to call Peter the Possum Man, a point guard in Melbourne’s ongoing marsupial mayhem. But Peter’s six trucks are already out this morning, responding to other complaints. Competitors, including Paul the Possum Catcher, Shield Pest & Weed Control’s “Possum. Removal Specialists,” and an outfit called Possoff, are also at work.

Urbanized Aussies

Demographers say that Australia is the least densely populated and most highly urbanized nation on earth. Contrary to movies, and myth, few of its 17 million people are at home in the Outback, the continent’s vast, dry, empty interior. Nearly nine of 10 of them cluster in coastal cities, worlds away from the dingoes, dunnies and didgeridoos of the bush. Forget those wild dogs, outhouses and aboriginal wind instruments. Forget “Crocodile Dundee” Paul Hogan, the actor who plays him in the movies, grew up in a Sydney suburb. Consider television’s Dame Edna “Hellooo Possums” Everage. Barry Humphries, the actor who plays her in drag as, in his words, a “silly, bigoted, ignorant, self satisfied Melbourne housewife,” grew up in Melbourne’s suburbs, loathing the burbs.

Real possums, on the other hand, love Aussie suburbia, thriving at four or five times the density they do in the bush. Probably nowhere in the world do so many people and possums dwell in such propinquity as they do in the leafy house and garden suburbs of Melbourne, on Australia’s verdant south coast. What runaway deer populations are to America’s Eastern suburbs, stay at home possums are to Melbourne. Residents, who number 3.2 million, either loathe them or love them. Tourists are crazy about them.

Possums-the most common are brush-tails and ringtails prefer dwelling in hollows in big, old trees. But such holes are rare in town except in parks. So any hole in a roof that is as big as a tennis ball is an open invitation for possums to take up residence. And once ensconced, they rearrange the insulation, chew up wiring, stain walls and stink up the place with their foul-smelling urine. Being nocturnal, they eat and boogie at night.

What’s more, the law is on their side. Australia has about two dozen species of possums. Ranging from cat size to coon size, they are furrier and cuter than their hairy American cousins, named opossums by Indians in Virginia and described in 1612 by Capt. John Smith as having “a head like a swine and a tail like a rat.” Aussie possums are protected by Australia’s Wildlife Act of 1975. No trapping or eradicating is allowed without a license. And such permits are increasingly hard to come by because, here in the state of Victoria, the Department of Conservation and Environment has adopted a people-possum coexistence policy and has begun a “Living With Possums” campaign.

“Possum wise, I reckon we now get around 80 calls a week,” says Brian W. Adams, general manager of Peter the Possum Man, which isn’t a real person but rather a 25 year old subsidiary of Adams Pest Control Pty. Ltd. Callers inevitably begin, “Hello, Peter?”

“A lot of Johnny come latelies have gotten into the business,” he says. “Most just catch possums and take them away. Any fool can do that.” The talent, he says, is in finding their holes and possum proofing the roof. He guarantees it for a year.

Enter possum sleuth Bob Turra. In his ninth year of spotting possum holes and estimating remedy costs for Peter the Possum Man, he guides a visitor across the tin roof of a house in Footscray, a working class suburb. Its underside is riddled with access holes and stains.”See that greasy stuff  it’s body oil,” he says. “That’s where they’re getting in. See over here. Rats. And look at that hair. Cats, too. She’s got quite a menagerie up here. No wonder it’s noisy.” He estimates trapping, repair and follow up at $350. The homeowner, insulted about the rats, decides against it.

Until last fall, professional possum catchers could turn their catches over to animal shelters for relocation. They did so at the rate of more than 5,000 annually. Do it yourselfers could borrow cages from townships and do likewise.

Dying In the Wild

Then Ian Temby became Victoria’s wildlife damage control officer and found, he says, that “over 90% of the relocated possums died in a matter of hours or a few days from predators and “Stress.” Soft suburban possums simply couldn’t hack it in the bush.

So Mr. Temby is trying to phase out the practice. He has written letters to town ships urging them to stop lending out cages. He wrote a book called “Living With Wildlife,” and he started the “Living With Possums” campaign. The idea, he says, is for residents to build possum housing in their trees that looks like over sized birdhouses.

Peter the Possum Man sells possum apartments for $65. But Mr. Adams notes that it isn’t easy to talk a client into buying a house for an animal that has trashed his own. But, writes Mr. Temby, “relocation of a possum from its territory simply creates a vacant territory that is likely soon to be occupied by another possum.”

Besides, goes the current ecological thinking, possums were here first. For about 65 million years before man arrived. Australia was one vast Jurassic Park for possums and other marsupials, including kangaroos, wombats, koalas, bandicoots, wallabies and 100 or so other species (not to mention two monotremes, “the platypus and the spiny anteater, which lay eggs). Marsupials are primitive mammals that raise their premature young in belly pouches (in contrast to placental mammals, which raise fetuses in wombs).

Displaced Marsupials

Isolated by oceans from landmasses where heartier placental mammals evolved and eliminated most marsupials, Australian marsupials thrived and diversified. About 30,000 years ago, aboriginal humans arrived, bringing a placental carnivore, the dingo. Beginning in the 18th century, Europeans brought their sheep, cattle, cats, rats, foxes and rabbits. Marsupials were slaughtered to make way. In 1906, some four million Australian possum skins were exported to London and New York. In 1932, a million possum pelts were marketed as “Adelaide chinchilla.” Eight years ago, possum skins brought $1 million to licensed hunters in the state of Tasmania. In 1990, they got only $150,000.

The 1975 wildlife law was a godsend for marsupials and other native animals. But some Aussies have been nurturing them since long before it was adopted. For example, Graham Cochran, a 77 year old pensioner who lives alone, has been feed¬ing the possums in Yarra Park near the Melbourne Cricket Ground nightly for 35 years. He figures he has missed only about 20 feedings in all that time.

Each afternoon around 5:30, he gets 22 loaves of leftover bread from an Italian bakery near his apartment and strips off the hard crust (because, as a boy, he didn’t like crust) and wets the bread into doughy balls. At about 8:30, he drives his battered old Holden sedan to the park and wheels a shopping cartload of bread from tree to tree, feeding dozens of possums. They know to expect him.

“I named this one Stubby,” Mr. Cochran says, feeding some bread to an eager possum with shortened brush tail. “He’s me mate.”

problems living with possums