Possum Specialist · Co-Owner
Dexter Cairns
A roof-plumber's eye for where water and weather get in, so the sealing actually holds.
Dexter co-owns Best At Pests. Before this he came up in roof plumbing, so he thinks about a house the way water does. Where it gets in, where it pools, where it'll give way first. Anyone can shove some mesh in a gap. Dex seals it the way you'd weatherproof your own place, so nothing just pushes back through. He's good with the animals too, which counts for a lot when you're easing a frightened brushtail out of a wall cavity in the dark. Off the tools he's usually with the dogs, on a bike, or making music.
Works on
Dexter's field notes
Rodents · Eltham Dogs in the house? We swap the bait. Selontra stays locked either way.
We use Selontra when there are no dogs on the property, and only in lockable stations. If there are dogs, we generally switch to a first-generation bait like Racumin Paste. Selontra's main pet risk is direct, not secondary.
Rodents · Ashwood Dust rodenticide. Decent for rodents. Dangerous to the rest of us.
An Ashwood client's previous pest company used dust rodenticide and told her to wait 48 days. Dust is extremely toxic when disturbed, dangerous to trades, pets, and wildlife. We used soft bait in secure stations, found the main entry under the tiles, and sealed it with aluminium flashing for a long-term fix.
Possum · Thornbury The Thornbury heat camera that found five possums that weren't there
A Thornbury homeowner was told she had five possums after a company used a heat camera on her ceiling. The heat signatures were light fittings, perfectly round, dead centre of each room, not moving. There were no possums, no droppings, no entry points. She'd paid $600 for work she didn't need.