A Possum in your Roof?


possums are protected

This information is extracted from a leaflet produced by National Parks & Wildlife.

In their natural environment possums like to live in tree hollows, but with the reduction of bushland and the increased number of homes, possums will move into the nearest comfortable home.

This can be your roof.

While at first it may seem cute to have a possum in the roof, they are smelly and noisy. Generally, they are better from a distance!

What to do

Follow these steps to removed the possum from your roof and ensure it does not return-

1. Provide an alternative home by constructing a sturdy weatherproof possum house

Make the possum box from any timber but not chipboard as it will disintegrate if it gets wet.

The top edge of the roof should be weatherproofed with a strip of metal or perhaps rubber. Aluminium angle, or inner tubing are satisfactory.

To keep the rain out, make the eve overhang by at least 10 cm.

Locate the entry hole under the eve, and screw a sturdy branch underneath the hole.

Near each corner drill a few small holes to allow water that may get in to drain out.

A few handfuls of dead leaves would provide more comfort for the possum.

By providing a possum house you are encouraging the possum to stay and claim your yard as its territory. The possum will then discourage other possums from moving into your roof and yard. By making friends with a possum you can help to conserve the species and learn more about them.

2. Trim any branches that overhang the roof to remove access to your roof.

3. Spread 8 blocks of camphor or 1 to 2 boxes of mothballs throughout the roof cavity to repel the possum. Do not use both camphor and moth balls as they react chemically with each other.

4. Place a light in the roof cavity and keep it switched on for 3 days and nights. The combination of the light and smell should drive the possum out of your roof and hopefully into the possum-house you have provided.

5. If you do not hear the possum for a few nights it has probably found a new home. To prevent the possum from returning, block off the access points into your roof with timber, chicken wire or both. Night time is best as the possum will be foraging for food and not tucked up in its next. Do not block off the access point unless you are certain there are no more possums inside.

6. If this does not deter the possum you will need to trap it.

Hang the possum box high in a tree - at least 4 metres from the ground where it is safe from dogs and cats.

Use strong wire fastened to the back of the box. Feeding the wire through a hose pipe (before fastening) provides protection from the weather. Fasten the wire securely to the box ensuring it is safe and that no points of screws poke through to the interior.

Use heavy guage flat head nails to fasten metal strip to the tree behind the box. Don't drive the nails in all the way - they may have to be removed later as the tree grows.

Possums are protected fauna in NSW and catching possums without a licence is illegal. Licenses to trap possums on your property are issued free of charge from any office of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Traps are available for hire from some pest control companies or a pest control company licensed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service can trap the possum for you. Remember to block off the access points into your roof and provide a possum-house if you intend to try trapping.

What happens to the possum after it's caught? 

The possum must be released back onto your property at dusk. Bushland areas rarely have any vacant territories so releasing a possum into another area would cause it to invade another possum's territory. Not an acceptable state of affairs. Relocation to other areas is only undertaken by the national Parks and Wildlife Service as a last resort.

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Animals / House & Garden / Nepean Blue contents