The Secret to Keeping Possum off Your garden

Professional tree care services can be your best option to keep possums away from your garden. Even in instances where you are planning to install possum guards, the professional tree care services can be significantly more effective than a DIY job. As you have possibly experienced, these critters are pretty resilient and even if you have found just one in your yard, you should get rid of the animal as early as you can. These omnivores creature can chew away almost anything that comes in its way and can, therefore, cause serious havocs around your yard or garden including the peripheral area. Remember that the creature can survive even in very adverse conditions making you backyard it’s the perfect home. Procrastination with your efforts to get rid of the problem can potentially lead to a more serious situation. Possums are significantly reproductive and can have as many as 25 babies in one go.

In Australia Possums fall under the protected species, when you launch any action to eliminate possums from your garden or backyard, you should be aware that these critters are classified as protected species within the Australian jurisdiction. Therefore, you are prohibited from poisoning them or killing them. What you can do though, includes keeping potentially troublesome areas clean, eliminating food sources such as remnants of food in the garbage can, cleaning up your barbecue to make sure that any scrap is removed safely, and ensuring that pet food is stored safely. But, these measures are inadequate to keep your yard entirely protected from possums since they would continue to be hunting for bugs, snails and plant foods and you can do precious little to keep them in check.

Professional help is your best option

Given the protected status enjoyed by possums, any DIY effort to contain them can fall short and your best option is to seek help from professional tree care people. The major advantage with these professionals is that they bring rich and focused knowledge for effectively dealing with possums and keep the critters as well as your family safe while also eliminating any damage that might already have been caused to your garden. Perhaps, you have also noticed that many residential gardens and Metropolitan parks in the greater Melbourne area have a high density of ringtail and brushtail possums compared to the experience around Australian wild. These critters do not insist on any particular spread on the buffet table and are happy with anything from flowers, fruits, buds, leaves, even food particles in the garbage bin, an unclean barbecue and so forth. No complaints for the missing sausages or other enhancements.

Natural means of tackling this menace

You can launch several measures when you are focused on eliminating the possums from your property with causing them any hurt ( so that you keep yourself safe from the law).

Keep food sources away

Food is the primary source of attraction for possums and once that is identified, they will stick around that area. We have already discussed what constitutes food for these critters and when you are clearing up your yard, you should remember that there is precious little that does not appeal to the possums. Rotting wood, old food, snakes, dead animals etc also can make food for the critters. That brings into focus the importance of keeping your backyard spotlessly clean and free from anything that presents a buffet table for the possums. Another measure you can initiate is integrated pest management with the help of experienced professionals. This way, the possums will find an empty table and move on to another yard that is more friendly for them.

Include these in your cleanup effort

Leftover from human food is not the only item that is palatable to possums. Your garden makes the perfect home for a variety of insects, slugs, spiders etc. and possums can have a hearty feast from these too and they are very flexible when it comes to filling their belly. But, when the garden is well trimmed and manicured, you can prevent the possums from roaming around the yard or making their new home there.

Keep the trash sealed

Domestic trash does accumulate every day you must take extra care to ensure that all such trash is carefully sealed in a bin and nothing gets strewn around your yard to minimize possum invasion. Possums are also great scavengers and therefore even the slightest indication of a food source will attract them. They can cut through plastic or other strong containers to reach the food. Perhaps you have noticed parts of trash containers chewed away because possums have such strong teeth. Metal bins are therefore the only option before you if possums are troubling you consistently. Dumpsters having heavy lids or metal bins with a locking mechanism can keep the possums away more effectively. You should also ensure that there are hard and strong barriers to any space where you keep the garbage so that food smell does not percolate around the area.

Additional measures

Additional measures that can be pursued to keep possums away from your yard include:-

Deterrents and repellents

Deterrents and repellents are a huge help in causing a natural response from these critters and that is mortal danger or fear. But, why do these measures not fall under natural methods? Well, while these measures do focus on attacking the problem at its roots, the implementation of the measures is not natural. For instance, most repellents use urine from a predator in the form of an active ingredient and that is undoubtedly natural. But, in the product form, they carry the label of synthetic granules and the predator’s urine is infused in powder form and not in its original state. Another control measure is the use of a flashlight in the form of a deterrent. Flashlights trigger fear in possums signalling a danger lurking around. Since these electronic devices are manmade they do not constitute natural measures for combating the problem.

Possum guards

Possums can cause havoc in horizontal as well as vertical surfaces. Possums can creep up trees, power lines, electric poles, chew away power cables, destroy fruits and flowers even on tall trees and reach great heights to cause serious destruction. The only way you can prevent such vertical trouble is by installing possum guards. Galvanised steel with an injection moulded polypropylene is used in manufacturing possum control and therefore come with the required strength to keep the possums from circumventing these possum guards.

Using traps

Another effective means of fighting possums on vertical surfaces is using traps. However, you should also know that traps are designed for general application and not for possums specifically. You can choose large sized traps and get them installed around your backyard for trapping the critters.