You have a carefully tended and prized veggie garden or a lovely tree, then one night your neighbourhood possum decides to nibble on the new growth or munch on your fruit trees. To stop possums eating plants and trees there are two main options: Temporary and permanent fixes. Our experience and trials by the Victorian Department of Agriculture, suggest chemical sprays do not always work.
Possums Eating Plants
Temporary possum control solutions include spraying a proprietary possum deterrent spray such as D-Ter, Scat or Possoff, available from hardware stores. Other temporary options that have been suggested include blood and bone fertilizer, Quassia chips and garlic sprays. These temporary solutions may last a few weeks unless it rains. However, particularly hungry possums or possums with young have been known to ignore even the strongest of sprays and continue on their merry munching way.
Possums are a native animal and therefore protected. They cannot be relocated by law and possum catchers in Brisbane must have a wildlife permit to trap them. If you were to relocate your possum illegally, it is almost guaranteed the relocated possum will usually die, as it does not know where to hide and find food. It’s also pointless, as another one will move in to take its place. The only permanent solutions to stop possums eating your plants are the installation of strong physical barriers.
These include metal collars around the base of trees to help prevent the possums from climbing up; sheet metal around veggie gardens, rigid netting over smaller plants and gardens. An unsupported floppy top added to your existing fence can protect your whole backyard, or at least make it harder for the possum to get in and out. If you have a possum in your roof, there are measures to counteract that too.
The other option is to accept that possums are part of nature and will move on to other meals. Plants and shrubs will then re-grow, often stronger and better than before – all the happier for the haircut.
Peter the Possum Man offers humane possum removal services in Brisbane. Possums cannot be relocated to another area but our possum catchers hold the relevant wildlife permits to safely trap and evict your pesky possums from inside your building. Our possum control methods include finding and blocking off gaps in your home, to create a possum-free building.
