Possums! Hi, First silly question i have is - are you sure that it's possums?? Usually you'll know it's possums because when they climb young fruit trees, the small branches will be snapped off. If you are certain that it is possums then - good luck!! : ) My husband and I live in the middle of thick Tassie bush and as far as i've seen and heard, there are very few tricks which will keep the little buggers out (especially when it's fruiting time!). My parents tried the chicken wire up 5-6 foot, then left another foot or so dangly down, but some possums were still able to get in. We wanted to build something that would be TOTALLY possum proof and not something that we had to keep spraying or attending to all the time. Just for interest sake i have attached a link to our defence system against the critters. It seems a little extreme, but at least we have over an acre of 'possum proof' gardening! * Notice that there is even a strip of tin around the house! Hope you find something that works for you! https://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/ ... %20garden/ Cheers Lyn
Yeah, don't go offing possums because you may get dobbed in by a neighbour and the fine is a sting in your tail. But you can catch one (pref. a male) and keep it for a while. Why? Like the saying goes, "piss on it, make it yours" so too applies with possums. Spraying urine around will keep possums out of your garden. Catch a possum - humane traps are available. Pick it up by the tail and hold a funnel underneath it and usually this elicits a response. A small amount will do wonders. I care for possums time to time so I collect their watery donations by laying plastic down in their pen. Alternatively, netting your trees also works but can be illegal in some shires so check with your Council first.
Found this recipe on a US site, haven't tried it yet myself but if it works on deer I will give it a go when I have something I really want to protect. Make your Own Liquid Critter Fencing! 1. Start with a 1 gallon Plastic Jug. 2. Puree 12-18 eggs in a blender- this makes them smooth & not clumpy, pour them into your jug. 3. Add approximately 3-5 T. of Fresh minced Garlic. 4. Add 1 T. Cayenne Pepper Powder. 5. Tighten the top & shake Vigorously. Add water to fill to 3/4 of the way full. 6. Let the container set for 7-10 days, allowing the eggs to putrify. Label it as Poison. To Use: Open outside, attach a spray nozzle to the top and spray around your garden. You will need to reapply 1x weekly & after any heavy rains. While it will stink upon application after several hours it will dry and not smell (to you anyway!) The critters- moles, deer, rabbits, gophers, will not come anywhere near it! I think the smell would be enough to put anything off.
This just does not sound like a possum! You are there so no doubt you are right but rabbits are more likely to cause ring barking on new trees. We surround new plantings with plastic sleaves. To be honest, possums just get on doing their own thing and leave us alone. The compost area/bin is the biggest attraction and has to be covered. The tip is to never intentionaly feed a possum and they will carry on eating what they always have.
Re: Possums eating our new citrus trees Quassia Chips ... swear by them ... even starting a church dedicated to them ... all welcome (including every possum in Melbourne - they wont stay long, and they will remember not to bother returning to my now resplendent Sultana grape pergola). Hit this link ... https://www.faunarescue.org.au/possum%20flowers.html and drop "Quassia" into a search engine. Save yourself.
Re: Possums eating our new citrus trees Find some Possum road kill and throw that under your tree. Old pawn heads, but they smell real bad. Blood and bone is the old Fav, it stopped what ever was eating my last green manure crop.
Hi David I love possums, provided they don't come near my property. From 2006 until last summer, as rain and moisture were scarce, that's when possums were at their worst on my property in Melb's eastern suburbs. When they are hungry (thirsty), they eat the new, succulent shoots off anything. Anything with tender green leaves was sheared; deadly hot chillis were ravaged, rose bushes stripped (thorns and all) and any herbs had no chance. The only thing that has not been touched are my olive trees; they are too bitter and, resultingly, they never get harmed. I now grow all chillies and herbs in pots up on ledges. Since the rains came in last summer, my roses have not been touched. I also removed a canopy tree (which was home to dozens of them) and replaced it with a Eureka lemon tree. Within the first year when the lemon tree was wasn't much more than a metre, they got into it and snapped it down the centre. Fortunately, it lived after I zipped the limbs together with cable ties. A year later, the limbs have fattened, adhered together and healed. The tree's now surrounded by a sturdy metal tree cage (they come in halves and clip together - Bunnings sell them. I've seen no evidence that possums can either climb or penetrate it). I'll probably leave it on permanently. They are worth buying. I've thought about providing food in a controlled way to help 'manage' possums, to keep them away from eating the rest of my garden. But I fear word will get around and attract rampant numbers of ring and brushtails. Other ways to keep possums away: - Own a scary dog. But if you've got a manicured garden, that'll be destroyed by it. - Own a psychotic, under-fed cat. I once owned a cat that'd disembowel any possum in sight. Unfortunately, that cat's been dead for 22 years. He was something of a weapon. The message also permeated the possum's kin to keep clear. Sadly, even if you were fortunate enought to possess such a pussy, if it's after dark the cat can be arrested and impounded by the council. I'll be damned if I know how they do it (with tranquiliser darts, I suspect). - Purchase a gentle air rifle and a comfortable rocking chair. - Purchase a possum trap, mount it on the fence, invest in a chest freezer and then consult the fabled text '101 ways to cook a possum'. - Put broken glass on the fenceline, like they do on those scary looking Asian jail walls. As well as raising all sorts of moral and ethical questions, I realise many of these methods are not legal. But I'd place bets on their effectiveness.
Is it true that Possum Hate the smell of FISH OIL and brushing Fish Oil will keep them away from Fruit trees?