What do possums eat?

Jan 052012

What do Possums Eat?

Possums are herbivores.

That means they eat plant matter, leaves and fruit mainly.

However they have been know to have a little chew on the odd electrical lead or light fitting in the roof of a house. But this is only when it is in the way of it getting somewhere of interest to it.

They absolutely love chewing on timber, especially if it can gain them access to the inside of your roof.

Lead Flashing chewed by a possum

Nothing is safe

Even the solid lead flashing used to waterproof the join in roof tiles is fair game for a tenacious possum.

The thing with possums, is that it’s hard to generalize about their dietary preferences. They seem to learn what is good to eat and then go all out to devour all the available food in their territory.

In some cases we have seen possums eat the green rind off a lemon just before it ripened. Then within 3 nights the entire crop from the one tree was eaten in the same way.

Over the next 3 weeks they proceeded to eat all the leaves from the tree and with in 6 month the tree was dead because the possums ate every new shoot that appeared and the tree could not photosynthesize.

One possum removal Brisbane job we did, found the possums eating everything in the planter boxes on a balcony of an apartment block, even the chilli plants.

Possum Noise of Defence

Get rid of Possums No Responses »

Dec 072011

Possum Noises

Ever wondered what it’s like when 2 possums face off, one defending its territory and the other trying to take over.

Chances are if you’re hearing this noise inside your roof, you have a resident possum trying to ward off some agressive action by something. Time to get Mr Possum to get rid of Possum.

Stop dogs barking at possums

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Dec 012011

Possums provoke dogs into barking

Find out what you can do to stop it

Many home owners have pets and many of those in urban areas are dogs.

Possums are often responsible for tormenting dogs at night. They run along the fence or sit up in a tree and the poor old dog can see the possum but can’t get at it.

This can be a real problem causing problem with with sleeping children and upsetting neighbours.

So what can you do?

Firstly it is illegal to just catch the possum and take it miles away and release it into the bush

Well to build a bit of a picture here for you. Possums are territorial and at night when they are out of the nesting quarters, they will forage around close to there nest. If that nest happens to be in your roof then they will stay around somewhere close to the hole or entry point, they do this to protect their home.

That being the case the obvious thing is to block the main entry point up and force the possums to find a new home.

You can also put a possum box up in a tree some where away from the house so the possum will hang around down near it.

So what can you do to stop dogs barking at possums? You can train your dog not to bark at the possums. This is the best option because even if the original possums disappears, another will replace it in a short time.

So if possums are causing your dog to bark all night, train it to stop barking at them.

Is Possum Removal the Answer?

Possum Removal 1 Response »

Nov 212011

Possum removal

Many people have had experience with possum removal. Some people believe that the only thing you can do is to remove them. What they mean is to trap them and relocate them.

YOU CAN”T DO THIS. Just because a possum is keeping you awake at night doesn’t give you the right to take it away from it’s territory.

It would be like someone kidnapping you and taking you interstate just because you played loud music.

When a possum enters your roof, the only thing you can do is to find the hole and block it up. Making sure the possum is out of the roof first.

A word of warning though.

When possums have been resident for awhile in your roof they will do just about anything to get back in. I have recently seen a roof in Brisbane where the possum chewed a piece fascia board 6″ wide and made a hole about 8″ long.

So, never under estimate a possum that has been locked out of its home. They are very tenacious and will work away until they gain entry if they think there’s a chance.

Possum Removal

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Nov 062011

Possum Removal specialists

The number of times I have seen the evidence of poorly executed attempts to get rid of noises in the roof is astounding.

The worst case was a young possum sitting eating rat poison distributed by a pest controller who wrongly diagnosed the noises as rats.

Possums try to get back in day and night

That was right up there with the call i received from someone who wanted me to remove a dead possum from in an exhaust fan above the stove. The possum would have had to have been in there for about 5 days before it died. You draw the conclusion, but my guess is that they wanted to get rid of the possum and thought that letting it die was the answer. The fact is that with any possum removal, if you don’t block the hole then another one will just waltz on in.

If you are suspicious that a possum is the cause of noises in your roof then get a possum removal specialist to check it out, they will

inspect your roof inside
locate any holes on the outside of your roof
inspect the entire outside of you house for possible entry points

You will then know what needs to be done to treat the problem once you know what you are dealing with. The person you use to inspect your property will be able to carry out most work required to get rid of possums from your roof.

How to Keep Possums out

Get rid of Possums, Possum Proof, Possum removal brisbane No Responses »

Oct 152011

Discover what not to use to Keep Possums Out

The material you use to possum proof your house determines the level of success you achieve

If you are serious about getting rid of possums and keeping them out then material selection for your repair is critical. Possums are much smarter than you think.

They will seize the smallest weakness in your workmanship and over time, break through to get back in.

How often have you heard, “We had someone come and seal up the holes with chicken wire, but somehow they got back in”

Worst example of possum proofing a house

Here is an example of of just how effective some repairs are not.

In this case the repair would have taken considerable time to do, with the result being as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.

If you really want to keep possums out of your roof, there must be thought put into the fact that a possum has plenty of time and plenty of patience when it comes to dismantling your efforts to keep them out.

Don’t under estimate them, possums will get beck in if you take short cuts on the repairs you do to prevent them.

They have sharp teeth and strong jaws, they will chew, gnaw and scratch their way back into their home unless the repair is done properly.

Get Rid of Possums with Care

Get rid of Possums, Possum removal brisbane, Rats in your roof 2 Responses »

Sep 152011

Baby Possums are everywhere

I was recently called to get rid of possums in a roof in Brisbane where they were getting into the roof and causing the people their a huge mount of grief with the running around in the night.

What was puzzling to start with was the excessive amounts of movement during the day. You see normally possums sleep during the day but this one kept move around walking from one side of the roof to the other. The tenant originally thought it was a rat in the roof.

The reason for the movement turned out to be the fact that the possum was a mum and the baby was big enough to be out of the pouch but not self sufficient and like most young ones wouldn’t leave mum alone.

Baby Brushtail possum

Fortunately when darkness fell they both went out of the roof, we blocked the hole in the roof and Mum and baby went to live in a nearby tree as they are meant to.

So if you are hearing noises in the roof, don’t automatically assume that you have rats and throw out rat poison. It could be a mum with a baby, mum will eat the rat bait and die. Baby will end up die because it has no Mum.

If you are unsure whether you have rats or possums in your roof

Get Rid of Possums from your roof

Get rid of Possums, possums in your roof 2 Responses »

Sep 082011

Get Rid of Possums what can you do?

Mate, just Get Rid of Possums, All I want to do is get rid of these damn possums. They keep me awake at night and wake the kids up, as if we need them waking during the night.

Have you ever heard that before?

Get rid of possums

Lets have a look at what your options are.

Possum Deterrents

Just about everyone has a theory about how to get rid of possums. They really mean how to stop possums annoying them, and the options range from

Bright lights
Naphthalene flakes
Loud music
Pepper sprinkled around
Rubber snakes
Owl figurines and I’m sure there are many more

The bottom line is that possums are very adaptable and some of these may work for a short time like naphthalene flakes and most don’t work at all.

You see, when there is a change to the environment in which a possum lives, they just sits back and look. If the the change doesn’t affect them, they just go on with business as usual.

Electronic Deterrents

There are a number of electronic devices available which claim to be able to deter possums.

Ultrasonic

A device that sends out an ultrasonic way the is supposed to be detected by possums and keep them from entering the space where the device is located. The down side of these devices is that they have black spots or shadows behind roof timbers.

Electric Fences

These area 3 or 4 strand of wire which are attached to a low voltage electronic unit which sends a pulse through the wire which give anything that touches them a small jolt which shocks them away from the area. These can be effective along the top of fences or the top of the roof to deter them from running over the roof.

Sprays and Liquids

There are also a number of possum removal sprays available. The idea is that you spray it around and it’s supposed to keep them away. As with the other deterrents they can have varying levels of effectiveness.

The only certain way of get rid of possums out of your roof is is to physically block the entry points with impervious material after you are sure the possum is out.

Call Mr Possum on 0403 819 828 to get the experts to sort out your possum problem.

Trap a Possum

Get rid of Possums, Possum traps, possums in your roof No Responses »

Sep 012011

Trap a Possum or Not?

When possums are fighting in your roof and running around or more like a football team in a scrum. The only thing on your mind is to “GET THE POSSUM OUT of my roof”

Many people think that to trap a possum is the answer their possum problem.

So is trapping a possum the answer?

Lets take a look for a second.

A possum is in your roof
It’s annoying the hell out of you
You want to get rid of it and get your sleep back

Given all these are ticked, then you are more than ready to get rid of the possum, right?

What are your options?

Trap a Possum and take it away? – NO, you can’t take a possum away from it’s territory and release it (contrary to a common belief)
Block entry holes – YES, BUT you must ensure that the possum is out before you seal the hole up permanently
Block entry hole and trap the possum and release it in your yard – YES this is an option, BUT you must identify where all the holes are
Find a possum removal expert – use someone who has the experience and expertise to be able to identify where the holes are and will guarantee to block those holes so possums are not able to get bac

Summary

Trapping a possum may be an option but is usually not a very good option. The trap needs to be set and will only catch 1 possum at a time. So id there is a juvenile possum around, it is often not caught straight away and then you have a problem, because one possum is in the other is out. The hole still isn’t blocked.

There are more effective ways of getting possums out of your roof and then possum proofing the house so they can’t get back in.

If you are in doubt find a possum removal expert in your area who knows what they are talking about and who will guarantee that your roof will be free of possums for at lest 12 mths.

Can anyone get rid of possums

Possum removal brisbane, Possum removal gold coast, possums in your roof No Responses »

Aug 222011

Can anyone get rid of possums

No, ask anyone who has had anything to do with a persistent possum they will tell you that it’s not as obvious as it seems. The numbers ways possums can in to a roof is endless. So therefore it takes a certain amount of expertise that goes with finding these ways. In most cases just having a good look in the roof and not seeing a possum doesn’t mean there isn’t one there.

Possums aren’t pests

I have recently seen some disturbing things happening when it comes to getting rid of possums.

Although possums are inside your roof and keeping you awake at night, they aren’t pests. Therefore they can’t be dealt with as a pest.

You see pests are not protected by Law (Possums are) and the way possums need to be dealt with is in a way that stops them from getting into your roof but humanely as well.

Should you use a pest controller to possum proof your house?

This depends on how they approach the possum removal from your roof. Many a time we have seen where a bit of chicken wire stuffed into the hole where they were getting in and then give you no guarantee that they won’t get back in.

Easy to get through Chicken wire repair

Often when someone calls with a “noise in there roof” problem the first reaction is to assume that there is rats in the roof. (Current treatment for this is to throw out rat poison) . There are a number of issues with this

If possums are in the roof, they will eat the poison and die a horrid death.
The possum or rats may die in the roof
The hole where the got in originally is still open
There WILL be another possum come visit GUARANTEED

Pest Controllers may be good at controlling pests but unless they are experienced and successful at Possum Proofing your house, you should seek the services of a possum removal specialist.

When possums start interrupting you life, DON’T just treat them as a PEST. Call a Possum removal specialist and have them dealt properly.

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