Possums in Canberra

It’s late at night. You’re trying to get to sleep in the darkness of your room. But you cannot stop stirring. You hear scratches, screeches and noises coming from inside your walls. You cannot see anything as you hear the scurry of little feet…

It sounds like something out of a horror movie, but the chances are you’ve just got a possum in your roof.

As Australia’s “Bush Capital,” Canberra has a strong population of possums; they are everywhere! And one of their favourite places to make their homes is in the structures of your roof.

Don’t go running for the brooms or traps just yet, as possums are actually protected under Territory law.

So what does that mean?

If you find you have a possum living in your roof, the only way you can remove the marsupial is by calling a profession pest controller who can legally move it for you.

Shane Mann, owner of Mann’s Pest Control, receives such calls for the removal of possums in residents yards. However the possum can only be removed if he is living under your roof.

“We’re not allowed to trap possums on the roof or in the yard. They’re protected species in Australia. So we are only allowed to trap possums that are in roof spaces or in roof voids,” Mr Mann said.

It’s a Trap!

Once the possum has been discovered in your roof, specially designed traps are laid for the possum overnight.

“We go out and we set a trap in the roof and the idea is we trap it in the evening then we come back in the morning and check our trap and hopefully we got one.”

But don’t start celebrating just yet, as a part of the removal process involves finding where the possum got into the roof in the first place.

“They can squeeze through a hole half the size of what they actually are and with poorly made structures  they’ll squeeze into the smallest of holes to get protection and to nest or to sleep in the day and then come out at night searching for food.”

“There’s no point trapping a possum and then releasing it again without blocking off the entry point into the roof, so we’ve got to find that and block it off, ” said Mr Mann.

Residents can also get one-way trap doors installed that allow possums to come out of your roof, but not back in again.

Ok, now what? We no longer have possums in our roof, and the entry points are taken care of. But what happens to the possum?

“The law allows us to have hang onto the possum overnight, or well for 24 hours and then we have to release them. We have to release the possum on that property or within a 50 metre radius of that because they are territorial.”

Playing Possum

Australian law forbids unregistered people from taking action against unwanted possums themselves.

It is illegal to lay traps or poison possums.

But should these laws be changed?

“No I think the law should stay because you let anyone bait or trap possums, it could lead to cruelty and all sorts of things. You need to be very careful about it because you can bait non-target animals which are cats, dogs, pets and things like that.”

“They are regarded as pests by lots of people but you can’t do anything about it other than moving them out of your roof. So we’re expected to live with the possums on our property,”said Mr Mann.

But fear not! There are ways to prevent a possum from getting into your roof. Keep shrubbery and trees away from the house, keep them pruned and neat and remember to check your roof every once in a while.

But remember, as suburbia we do provide the ideal habitat for possums.

“We as humans in suburbia provide the ideal environment for them as well; we plant flowering shrubs which they feed on and fruit trees – then with our structures we provide all the shelter that they need as well.”

If you find a possum in your roof, don’t worry; you now know what to do.

And hopefully when you go to bed tonight not a creature will be stirring, not even a mouse….or possum.

Text by Mallory Bugeja