For many Australians, living alongside possums is a part of everyday life, particularly in the urban centres. In the wild, possums will make their home in trees but in the urban environment, where many of these options have been taken away due to development, they go for the next best thing - your house roof space. There are two main species of possum that are encountered either living in your roof or running along your fenceline taking the tops off your precious shrubs. They are the Brushtail Possum and the Ringtail Possum.
Brushtail Possum - The Brushtail Possum has a pointed face and a pink nose with long oval ears and a bushy black tail. These are a nocturnal, semi-tree dwelling marsupial about the size of a domestic cat. They are the second biggest possum in Australia.
Ringtail Possum - The Ringtail Possum is much smaller than the Brustail, roughly the size of a small cat. They are mainly grey with white fur on the tip of its tail, behind its eyes and on its belly. They have orange brown tinges on its tail and limbs. They can be grey to dark grey in colour and have red or orange tinged legs and belly. The underside of its coiled tail is naked, but furry on top.
Control of possums should be approached with caution as they are a protected species. Please see below our humane options for the management of possums including possum trap, fence spikes (that do not harm the animal), possum nesting boxes, deterrent sprays and ultrasonic deterrents.
