Serious Possum Problem

[Robsterios]

It's that frustrating time of the year where I should be enjoying the fruits of my repotting labor but instead have been battling a serious possum issue.
Most years, the possums run riot on my garden maples, cherry plums, pear trees etc, defoliating and braking branches. Up until recent times they have not ventured down to my benches to devour my Bonsai. There was the odd chew here and there but some spraying of one of the types of possum repellent sprays usually did the trick. Not this year, a week ago, I came home from work to find significant destruction, in particular my maples and crab apples, broken branches and for some tree's, total defoliation to the point the tree is almost destroyed. 20-30 years of ramification building ruined in one night. Very frustrating and heart braking. My property is a paradise from them being surrounded by massive conifers and deciduous trees with a smorgasbord of foliage within and virtually impossible to control. I have spikes and netting, have tried every spray on the market, the latest was using Charlie Carp as a foliar spray and I thought this was working until the other day. I have now resorted to trapping them - yes, I know it's legally a no-no but plan on releasing them to a forest nearby but far enough away to not return. There are many, I reckon a dozen both brushies (that are massive) and ring tails. It's the ring tails that I believe to be the real threat coming down to the benches but I will be able to tell after tonight's catch..!!
Anyway, just had to have a vent.. and if anyone has any miracle remedies to this most frustrating problem, I'm sure I'm not the only one, has..

[TimS]

Really sorry to hear that mate, thats devastating to lose so much work in one night.

Brushies are absolute b*stards of the first water. I'm yet to conclusively find or know of anything they genuinely won't actually eat as far as repellants go. I had heard they don't eat Olive trees......until a family friend had one decimated.

They are creatures of habit, will go to the same trees to feed and use the same pathways via fences and over rooves to get there. For garden trees it's about trying to find ways to disrupt their usual pathways. Obviously not something that can be done with bonsai short of putting the trees in cages.

I had a big old gum tree they were eating to death in the garden every single night until i put a plastic ring around it. Was amusing in a "yeah stuff you possums" way to watch them jumping from the ground and sliding confusedly down the plastic until they finally accepted defeat and moved into another big gum a house or two away. Again not a solution for bonsai.

Short of a big dog that likes to chase them but not chew on bonsai, or putting trees in a cage in a fully enclosed area it's hard to prevent

[MikeK]

without putting trees in a cage in a fully enclosed area ... it's hard to prevent

Agreed ... that's the only thing that I have found that works, I have a plastic mesh cage over all my benches to keep them out.

It's the ringtails that I found worst - used to go outside at night to find them sitting in my trees chewing away, they'd give me the evil eye for disturbing them but not move. I ended up hitting them with a jet from the garden hose and even they my would only begrudgingly move when it got too much.

Brushies are walking over the top of mesh these days, but struggling to get in. I do have to clean their droppings from my trees/pots on a weekly basis, but thats a small price to keep the trees safe. Occasionally one will make a hole and get in, then I end up with broken pots and trees as they knock them off the benches - if that keeps up I may have to move to metal mesh

[NickityNic]

Had a similar thing with a few of my trees. Just ate every branch right down. Ive had to stop using organic fertilizer because thats what attracts them to the bench. Havent had a problem since i got the blood and bone out of the soil

[Grant Bowie]

When I was curator of the NBPCA at the Commonwealth Park site we used an electronic device that emitted a mostly undetectable noise that kept possums away. It was a line of site thing, but it did seem to work. Cant remember name or any details so you might have to trawl the Interweb.

Good luck,

Grant

[Beano]

I haven’t had a problem since I put in a Pingg String. Made by sureguard. Husband installed around my display wall. Occasionally they come to the ground level pots but we even have 2 open vege beds and rarely does anything get eaten by a marsupial.

Not for everyone but when you’re losing that much work in a short time it’s devastating and sometimes serious action needs to be taken.


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[Stu]

I feel for you. I have the same problem. I was looking at the Sureguard product (solar charged wire line) but decided against it. It was too difficult to work out where to set it up. Seems more for perimeter placement. Sprays did not work.
I bought pvc tubing to create a frame for netting today. All going well I will have a 3m x3m x3m space for my benches.
I would be interested in any other success stories.

[BonsaiBobbie]

I have been complaining about next doors rats!

I put blood and bone out and then they thought there was something underneath. Not too bad in the scheme of things.

Sorry to hear your troubles.

[tgward]

pvc frames and bird netting sound good

[Beano]

Re: sureguard pingg string, yes it’s a perimeter product. This is my bonsai wall and vege boxes before it was installed. It worked from day 1 on the wall. The issue wasn’t just the possums eating the trees for me, they were also knocking trees off the wall onto the ground. Never broke a pot but failing checking them day and night I probably lost a couple that had their roots exposed too long after they’d fallen from the pot. I now have other pots on the ground that they don’t touch and those are not protected by the string. I run mine on nocturnal mode, so it’s disarmed in the day time. I’ve had mine for 4 years.

The worst thing that has happened since it’s installation is that we replaced the rose bushes to the left with espalier step-over apples and one got munched just as it was leafing out. It never thrives over 3 years so I’ve replaced it this year. The apples are not protected by my setup.




This is the string, it’s subtle and not ugly or obvious.



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[Phil Rabl]

I was talking to a friend the other day who has a tip for keeping possums at bay. She does the gardening talkback show on 2CC in Canberra on Saturdays and Sundays. She knows her stuff. Her tip is to try mothballs.

The most convincing evidence comes from someone whose wisteria flower buds were eaten by a possum every year. He hung mothballs randomly in his plant and had flowers for the first time ever. Obviously, they will last longer inside (quite a few people report getting rid of possums from their garden shed). So one tip is to put the mothballs into an old sock to reduce the rain hitting them.

I have had quite a few new leaves eaten on some maples this year. My security camera proves it is a possum. So I have hung mothballs at both ends of my main stand - as well as putting up some more physical barriers. I'll report results later.

[austindrake]

Very interested in the results. I had maybe a 2 week reprieve from possums devouring all my new growth only to come outside yesterday morning and see that they had ravaged the new, new growth. Very worried that a few of my trees may not make it through the spring!

[Rory]

You need to cage off your best material. That’s the only thing that worked for me. Otherwise, they’re like Chuck Norris.

Thick chicken wire will work, otherwise if your bonsai continually lose their new growth, they will eventually die.

The only other options are relocation, but I believe that’s frowned upon…..

[PWC]

This is a possum problem, one has moved into my nursery shed, not sure how long its been there but will be evicted soon. To date no damage has been done probably looking for a safe warm place to sleep.
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[Kedron Brook]

Good luck getting rid of it. Moth balls seems to be working for me.