Your tips for keeping possums away

[Jason]

Possums are adorable when they are climbing trees and dashing across electrical wires. But it can be frustrating when they are munching on your home-grown fruit and vegetables or keeping you up at night by dancing on the roof.

Fortunately, I'm sure the Workshop community can come to the rescue of anyone struggling with neighbourhood possums. 

What are your tips for keeping possums out of your garden or away from your house?

Jason

Community manager's note: Due to the popularity of possum discussions on the site, we have created two helpful guides:

• How to protect your plants from possums

• How to deter possums from your roof

[Mick]

Possums are territorial so not easy to keep away. A good solution if they are in the roof is to erect a possum box in a tree near the house. You can lure them with some fruit. They will typically prefer to live in the box than in your roof.  

[johnpietila]

how can Brisbane residents prevent possums eating their garden produce?

[Jason]

Welcome to Workshop @johnpietila. 

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with possums. What are you growing that they like to eat? I'm sure Workshop members will be happy to help. There's also plenty of tips in this older discussion - Your tips for keeping possums away.

Feel free to post on Workshop anytime you need a hand or have something to share. We look forward to reading about your projects and plans, and are confident that our community will provide plenty of helpful tips, information and inspiration along the way. 

Let me know if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site, or have any feedback about how we can improve Workshop for you.

All the best,

Jason

[Deanna]

Hi @johnpietila

I'm a wildlife rescuer/carer and I currently have two possums rehabilitating in my backyard  LOL

Have a read of this article as it has some good suggestions:
Living with Possums

Good luck!

Deanna 

[greygardener]

What are they eating @johnpietila? Can you tell us a bit about your vegie garden so we can provide some advice? Have you tried nets or any deterrents so far? Odour repellants can work.

[Isobel]

Anyone seen this in Bunnings? 

It doesn't seem to be on the website.

https://www.openforum.com.au/protecting-your-garden-from-possums/

[Brad]

Yates do have it listed though.

https://www.yates.com.au/product/home-pest/rodent-pest-control/yates-possum-repellent-spray

[pjturner2008]

Whether we like it or not possums are a native animal and are protected in Australia. They are by no means as big a problem here as they are in New Zealand. My resident possums are now leaving my fruit and vegetables alone since I have been feeding our local family. They love bananas, pawpaw, sultanas, pear and stone fruit. They arrive on my balcony at 9.00pm sharp every evening for dinner and they are quite affectionate. I look forward to their visits and they now leave my crops alone. Give it a go.

[Jason]

Thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your experiences @pjturner2008. Looking forward to reading more of your posts soon.

Please don't hesitate to post anytime you need a hand with a project or have something to share with our members. 

Jason

[kjs]

Hi there - we have a lovely feature feijoa tree in our back garden. Only problem is the possums love it as much as we do. We've given up expecting fruit. Now we're just aiming for foliage on the top 2/3s of the canopy and an end to the boundless possum poo under the tree every morning. The possums are accessing the tree from across a brick and timber boundary fence. Spraying the foliage would be challenging as the tree is in a raised bed and is 4-5 metres high. Any thoughts for something that could be applied to the wall and fence? Or will this just encourage them to climb the tree from the ground up. Our dog refuses to sleep outdoors at night so he's not an option.