Frequently asked questions

As possums do not live here naturally, our flora and fauna are not equipped to withstand their voracious appetites.
Possums are a serious environmental threat because they:

• Browse and destroy native and exotic trees, feeding on leaves and berries and stripping bark
• Browse and damage orchard trees, shelter belts, crops and pasture
• Feed on native birds (eggs, fledglings and adults)
• Feed on native invertebrates, such as insects
• Compete with native birds for habitat and food.

In 1837 some of New Zealand’s Pakeha (or white) settlers decided it would be good to start a fur industry, so they brought Australian possums to New Zealand. These first possums did not survive, but people kept trying. Twenty years later they succeeded. The first possum population to survive was in Southland in 1858.

In 1921 the Government made it illegal to bring any more possums to New Zealand. But by then, possums were already living in 450 different parts of New Zealand. In 1946, possums were officially declared a pest in the New Zealand environment.

There are many benefits of possum eradication, from an increase in birdlife to native bush areas and household gardens flourishing. It also benefits farms by taking away the risk of possums spreading tuberculosis to cattle. In the future it may allow other species of birds not on the Otago Peninsula to be re-introduced.

In order to achieve eradication, the OPBG will have to use a number of different methods of possum control. We won’t be able to do it by ourselves, we will need the community’s help. If you notice a possum please report it. If you would like to volunteer your time either checking for possums, managing some traps or helping out maintaining our tracking network then get in touch. View our OPBG Fact Pack here.

Possums are a nocturnal animal so you don’t see them around during the day time. You may hear their at night or hear them on your roof.

Other signs of possums to look out for include:

• claw marks on trees, fence posts and gates
• bark biting (horizontal bites) on trees
• possum droppings (approximately 2.5cm long and slightly thicker than a pencil) scattered under food trees and in the forks of trees

If you suspect you may have a possum on your property contact OPBG. We can give you some chew cards to place around your property. These nontoxic corflute plastic cards are filled with lure to attract possum bites, this will give you a positive identification of possums.

If you feel confident to manage a trap, OPBG could loan you a trap. If you would rather we looked after the trap, this may have to fit around other work in your area to make it more efficient and productive for us. OPBG will talk through the different options for trapping and will ask for your written consent before commencing any work on your property.

It would be best to talk to your children and show them the traps to try and take away some of the curiosity. Traps can be set at night and released in the morning to take away any danger. If you have concerns about kill traps, we do have the option of cage traps which are completely safe around children.

All of the OPBG traps have only ever been baited with fruit or a peanut butter type lure which is less attractive to household pets. We have a number of different traps that we can use, although some have better chances of catching a possum. Like above, traps can be set at night when your pets are inside and released in the morning before you let them out.

Some people set and release traps near their pets to warn them of the danger, this can make them reluctant to go near them.

• Dogs – If you do have a dog there is a good chance you don’t have possums on your property. If you do we have traps that can be set off the ground. Most dogs pay little attention to the traps we use.
• Cats – If you are setting traps for possums we recommend that you keep pet cats inside at night.

If you do end up catching a possum the body can be buried in your garden. If this is not an option, contact OPBG and we could dispose of it.

The OPBG is not targeting other pests at this stage as our focus is on the completion of our possum eradication work. We are working on drafting a multi species eradication plan by the end of 2019. To aid in this we are recording sightings of mustelids (stoats and weasels) on the Otago Peninsula.