Dealing with Possums Legally

If some of you are not familiar with possums, a possum is a quadrupedal Diprotodont marsupial with fur and long tails. This little rodent is a nocturnal creature, which means they sleep in the day and are active at night.

Possums are generally found in tree hollows in the backyard of homes but can also make their way inside the house. Now, this is when possums can be dangerous for you and your house. Because they can cause significant damage to the property.

How Do I Know that My House is Infested with Possums?

If you are not sure that your house is infested with possums since they only appear at night, here are some signs that you can follow to make sure of it.

Possums are omnivores, meaning they eat almost everything. And they are messy eaters and will eat from easily available sources. You can check your garden, trash can, and compost pile.

They have a very strong and foul odour. So unless you have a runny nose, you can easily smell it.

Have you ever awakened in the middle of your deep sleep with scraping, shuffling, and screeching sounds? Chances are possums had already infested your house, on your rooftop.

Possum litter is like dog faeces with dark brown to black in colour and can be commonly found in sheltered areas.

You can also look for possum tracks, typical of signs of long fingers and claw indentations.

What Should I Do if Possums Have Already Infested My House?

If it’s just another pest, you can easily get rid of it. But that’s not the case with possums. Since possums are native animals, they are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 and the Animal Welfare Act 1985. You must not harm possums in any way, and you can’t keep them without authority from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

This means that you must have a permit to capture, release or kill a possum. Any conditions imposed on permits must be observed. Permits must be obtained before trapping possums.

I Have the Permit. What Should I Do Now?

Capture is stressful to possums and can cause harm and distress to them if the trap is not managed properly. You must consider the following issues:

the amount of time the possum will spend in the trap

protection of the possum from predators

protection from environmental effects such as dehydration.

Position the trap inside the roof space near the possum’s access point. Make sure the trap is secure and stable to avoid injury to the possum. This needs to be done on the day you will possum-proof your house, especially if the possum is still on your roof at this time.

Set the trap at dusk and check each morning. Close the trap every morning so that possums are not caught in the heat of the day. Reset the trap at dusk.

The possums must be released on the same property, within 50 metres of the capture site, within 24 hours. The time of release must be consistent with the possum’s usual time of movement (after dusk). At the time of release, all reasonable steps must be taken to protect the possum from injury or predation by other animals.

It is important to follow the standard and do it properly since initially, it is illegal to trap possums and release them away from your property. Possums are highly territorial so relocating them elsewhere will only result in the released animal being attacked by possums already in the area.

This method is considered inhumane. It is very stressful for the animal and will result in the death of the possum regardless of where you release it. It may also spread disease if the animal is sick.

If you have released a possum elsewhere in the past, it may look like it has returned. This is highly unlikely. The possum you relocated will have died under very stressful circumstances.

Possums are part of the natural and urban environment and are territorial. Relocating a possum will not solve your problem. It simply means that a possum territory will be vacant for only a short period of time before another possum arrives.

I Am Not Sure I Can Do It Properly

To prevent any mishappening while trying to trap and release possums from your house, it is better to have professionals give you hands. City Pest Control is ready to help you with the little marsupials in your house. We guarantee you will get great results and no more disturbing noise in the middle of the night.