Possums or maybe a cat, in the roof ?

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by random, 26th Aug, 2017.

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  1. random

    random Well-Known Member

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    Possums or maybe a cat are in the roof and getting down into the wall.
    Any ideas on getting it out , especially if it's a cat ?
    Do cats get down into the wall , it sounds too big for a possum really tbh and there has been this cat around outside.
    Haven't seen any sign of possums.
    Thing is though that cat l'm sure has a home few doors down, unless he likes my irresistible charm better and sleeps up in my roof.
    You have to get them out before you block any holes , right?
    Shame l wasn't still up in NTH Qld , there was a guy up there came out for free and got rid of them.
     
    random, 26th Aug, 2017
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  2. Biz

    Biz Well-Known Member

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    Try letting off a can of Zyklon B in your roof cavity.
     
    Biz, 26th Aug, 2017
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  3. ellejay

    ellejay Well-Known Member

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    Probably a possum, cats are too savvy and lazy for that sort of thing. Do any of your neighbours have a trap you can borrow and relocate it? We did that and blocked the hole after.
     
    ellejay, 26th Aug, 2017
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  4. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    Might be a rat in the wall? Possums usually don't come down from the roof into the walls (in my experience with possums).

    A one-way door is how we removed our possums from between top and ground floors of our house when we got them out of the roof. We've got them out completely now but put a few possum boxes around the yard as alternative accommodation for them.
     
    wylie, 26th Aug, 2017
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  5. random

    random Well-Known Member

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    Ha, one way door eh , what next, great idea really.
    Where would l get one of those if no ones got a trap to lend me.?
    But nope def' no rat , it's big . That cats a pretty big cat but l dunno how big possums get, maybe they get as big as cats but whatever it is is big, thumps around like an elephant up there.

    Where did you put the trap ellejay ,up on the roof near the hole or ?
    Did you put bait , what bait ?
     
    random, 26th Aug, 2017
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  6. ellejay

    ellejay Well-Known Member

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    Yep we just put it on the roof next to the hole. I think we put bread in there and/or a bit of breakfast cereal. One of the lovely moments of country living, getting to use the village possum trap and had some really funny moments relocating the possum :D They're not small, but sound massive in your roof space. A happy ending was had by all :)
     
    ellejay, 26th Aug, 2017
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  7. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    We once had something in the roof cavity. We thought it was a possum, and called the pest removal people. He checked, and reported no possums, droppings, just mice. He cleared them out, they haven't been back.

    The pest control people will clear out whatever it is that you have. Or here's some good hints for possum removal:
    How do I get a possum out of my roof?
     
    geoffw, 26th Aug, 2017
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  8. datto

    datto Well-Known Member

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    You could smoke it out. Drill a few holes in the walls, attach a garden hose and blow smoke into the wall. The zonked out critters will find another house to play in.
     
    datto, 27th Aug, 2017
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  9. BarneyRubble

    BarneyRubble Well-Known Member

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    Agreed, sure sounds like a rat to me being in the wall cavity. Get some ratsac up in the roof asap!

    Once they have all, and there will not be just one, block all the entry points with chicken wire.
     
    BarneyRubble, 27th Aug, 2017
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  10. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    Here is a one way possum door. You need to try to pinpoint where it is coming from and close up one area at a time. We used possum traps (cheap to buy) and placed them in our ceiling near the man hole. Once we knew for sure they were out, we sealed up any gaps.

    Then they got in between the timber floors upstairs and the plaster downstairs, mostly by running along the steel girders that were open to our garage. They were living in our garage but that didn't bother us. I didn't mind them living up in the shelving (but they do make a terrible mess). But we'd never blocked up the steel girders and they loved running in there and peeing.

    So, our possum guy (took a number of trips but he was very reasonably priced and worked with us because hubby is very capable so that lessened the cost) found which runs were empty, and which had possums (torch and telltale scratches on the plaster walls as they scrambled up and in). He used a couple of one way doors each visit and once they were out we sealed that "run".

    I'm sure they are still in the garage and that's ok. Everything can be washed or cleaned. Just make sure they are out before closing anything up.

    Aust. Made Possum Trap / One Way Door Flap Will Fit In Tile Roof Pest Control | eBay

    And eBay has 2 x possum traps for about $60.
     
    wylie, 27th Aug, 2017
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  11. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    Just be careful. We had a rat in our walls and in the roof. When we first tried to move the possums from our roof, our pest guy used "possum proof bate boxes" which the possums managed to get into. We ended up with three dead possums in our ceiling which the pest guy removed for us. Not a nice job.

    So we never wanted to risk killing another possum and needed to get them out of the roof before tackling the rat.
     
    wylie, 27th Aug, 2017
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  12. hammer

    hammer Well-Known Member

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    hammer, 27th Aug, 2017
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  13. random

    random Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for those people and the door link to wylie.
    But nah this is no rat , had rats before. Not unless he's 10kilos haha, Hey , he might be , maybe he lives it up at my place sipping margarita's up there, over weight rat. l gotta look after my pets more .

    Anyway, must be a possum then l guess if cats don't do this stuff. That cats always coming out from under the house.
    Maybe he's living it up at my place too.
     
    random, 27th Aug, 2017
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  14. dabbler

    dabbler Well-Known Member

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    Rats can get very big, and make a racquet if they are big, cat highly unlikely, possum much more likely, they can squeeze though small openings too, we had one that used to come down the aerial power cable at night.
     
    dabbler, 27th Aug, 2017
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  15. highlighter

    highlighter Well-Known Member

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    You'd be surprised how incredibly loud a rat or mouse in the roof can be.
     
    highlighter, 27th Aug, 2017
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  16. Ted Varrick

    Ted Varrick Well-Known Member

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    What kind of smoke do you recommend, @datto ?
     
    Ted Varrick, 27th Aug, 2017
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  17. WattleIdo

    WattleIdo midas touch

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    It's possums; they're noisy as hell. Wait til they start having parties and asking the relos around. Remove humanely for healthy life.
     
    WattleIdo, 28th Aug, 2017
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  18. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    I'm moving this to the property management forum.

    Normally this would be done without comment, but I think this deserves explanation.

    Although this isn't about a rental property, it is an issue which can just as easily affect a rental property as a PPOR. The next person looking for a solution to a similar problem in an investment property is likely to be looking in the property management forum.
     
    geoffw, 28th Aug, 2017
    #18