The Brunswick apartment possum getting in through the rainheads

What she had

Brand new apartment building. Real nice place, ground floor. Possum noise every morning for a couple of months. She’d already had another company out.

Their advice? Cut holes in the plaster and pull the possum out.

I’m not going to say much about that except: no.

Where they were getting in

Box gutters. Specifically the rainheads. Found four gaps in total. On a new build you’d think everything’s sealed up. It’s not. The rainheads are the bit that gets missed because they’re not visible from the ground and they’re not part of the fit-out anyone checks.

Four gaps. That’s four ways in, and a possum only needs one.

What we did

Two one-way doors so they could leave on their own. We never trap, never relocate. Then blocked the rainheads internally with twelve and a half mil mesh. About an hour and a half, the lot.

Back in a week to pull the one-way doors off and close everything up. By then they’re out and they can’t find their way back in.

The bit most people get wrong

Brand new doesn’t mean possum-proof. People assume if a building’s just gone up, everything’s sealed. Rainheads, box gutter junctions, gaps where services come through. None of that is done with possums in mind. The builders aren’t thinking about it. Why would they.

And if someone ever tells you they need to cut holes in your ceiling to get a possum out, get a second opinion.