Possum Control

Possum | Cartoon | Resources

Possums were brought to New Zealand from Australia in 1837.

Some people objected to possums being brought in to New Zealand but they were not listened to - what a shame.

The people who brought possums in to New Zealand didn't think about what damage possums could do to the plants and animals in New Zealand.

Perhaps if those people had thought about the problems that possums would cause they would not have brought possums in to New Zealand.

There are about 70 million possums in New Zealand.

Possums must be controlled to stop them from eating up New Zealand!

Prevention

• Possums like living in warm dry sheds and barns - if holes are blocked up possums can't make nests there.
• Protect trees by placing metal strips around the tree trunks about one metre from the ground. The metal strips need to be about half a metre wide. This will stop the possums from climbing up the tree to eat its leaves.

Fences

• Cape Brett Peninsula in Northland and Cape Lampert in the Marlborough Sounds have both been fenced off by possum-proof fences. Inside the fence is a possum free zone and possums cannot get back in!  Karori Sanctuary in Wellington also put up a possum-proof fence in 1999, which means that the sanctuary will be a safer home for native birds.

Shooting

• Away from built-up residential areas night shooting is sometimes used to control possums on farms or along forest edges. At nighttime possums come out to eat and their eyes glow in the beam of a bright spotlight. When the possums are caught in the spotlight they are easy targets. Guns are not toys and all gun users in New Zealand must hold a current Gun Licence. Spot-lighting can be very dangerous if people are careless. It is illegal on Department of Conservation Land.

Bait Stations

• Most are made from plastic and are sealed at the top but open at the bottom for feeding. Bait stations are fixed to trees and posts where the possums can easily reach the bait. They are placed high enough to be clear of children, pets, livestock and ground-feeding birds, such as weka. Possums eat some of the poison bait from the plastic bait feeder and die.

1080

• 1080 is Sodium monofluoroacetate. It is an artificially-made substance used to kill possums but is like a naturally occurring poison found in some South African, South American and Australian trees. 1080 is the most commonly used method of possum control in New Zealand. 1080 is sometimes dropped from planes to cover larger areas where possums need to be controlled and is also used in bait stations. The baits are died green, a colour unattractive to birds, and are made of things possums like to eat like carrots, apple pulp and cereal.

• This trap is a strong bright yellow plastic box. Food, such as apple, kiwifruit and oranges are put in the trap to attract the possum. The possum puts its head into the opening and triggers the striker rod, which breaks the possums neck. Fruit baits make it unlikely that animals such as cats will be caught.
  Timms traps should be set close to possum trails and around trees known to be possum favourites. Care should be taken to set them out of reach of pets, children and ground-feeding birds, such as weka.

• These are steel mesh cages with a trap door which is triggered when the animal takes the bait. Small pieces of fruit or a trail of curry and flour can be laid outside the trap to attract the possum. But cage traps are heavy and the possum still has to be killed, once it is caught. Given the destruction possums are wreaking on the environment and economy it is irresponsible to catch and then release the possums, so if you use a cage trap you must kill the possum.

Cyanide

• To buy cyanide you need to be licenced by the Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and have the written approval of the landowner where the poison is going to be used. MAF will supply further details on the regulations covering this poison and the licence requirements. Cyanide is a highly volatile and toxic poison, which must be used with great care.

Biological Control

• This option is being researched. Scientists are learning whether they can change the possums DNA to stop them from having babies. Because this may require genetic engineering the research is controversial and is not approved by some conservationists.

For more information about any of these possum control methods contact your Regional Council, DoC or the National Possum Control Agency - for contact details check out the Possum - Resources page.