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Possum Removal Melbourne | Humane and Fully Licensed
Something heavy running across your ceiling at night? We remove possums humanely across Melbourne and seal the entry. Call 0435 073 966 for a free quote.
Tell us what you have seen
Nearly every possum call starts the same way — heavy thumping across the ceiling after dark. Tell us where the noise is and roughly when it started and we will tell you what is involved.
Request a callback
Choose your service, add a few details, and we will call you back with a quote. Open 24 hours — we answer after hours.
Possum removals we have actually done
Real footage from Melbourne jobs — the inspection, the removal under licence, and the part that matters most: sealing the entry point.
Videos do not download until you press play. Filmed on our own jobs.
Removing the possum is the easy half. Closing the hole is the job.
Brushtail possums are protected native wildlife in Victoria. They cannot be killed, and they cannot be taken away and released somewhere else — the law requires release on the same property. That single fact shapes everything about how this work is done properly.
So the actual solution is exclusion, not removal. We find every entry point, remove the animal, then seal the roof so it cannot get back in — and because it has to stay on your property, we can install a nest box to give it somewhere legitimate to go. An operator who takes the possum away is either breaking the law or, far more often, leaving you with a second possum in the same hole a fortnight later.
One situation changes the job completely. If the noise stopped a few days ago and a smell has started, you are no longer dealing with a live animal — a dead possum in a roof void is a different and more urgent piece of work, and it needs someone the same day rather than next week.
Three things about possums people are rarely told
All three change what a realistic outcome looks like.
We cannot take the possum away, and neither can anyone else
Brushtail possums are protected. In Victoria a possum removed from a roof must be released on the same property, within a short distance of where it was caught. Trapping without a licence is illegal, and relocating one yourself is illegal.
This is not us being cautious — it is the law, and it is also better for the animal, because a possum dumped in unfamiliar territory usually dies. Any operator promising to ‘take it far away’ is telling you what you want to hear.
If the hole stays open, another possum moves in
Melbourne has a dense possum population and a vacant roof cavity is prime real estate. The animal you have is not the problem; the opening is. We have been called to properties where a ‘removal’ was done three times in a year because nobody sealed anything.
That is why our price includes finding and sealing every entry point, and why we quote proofing as part of the job rather than as an extra.
Give it somewhere else to be
Because the possum has to stay on your property, the humane and practical answer is a nest box mounted in a tree or on a fence, ideally installed before the roof is sealed so there is an alternative waiting.
It genuinely reduces the chance of it spending a fortnight trying to chew back into the roof, which is the usual complaint after a seal-only job.
How to tell a possum from a rat in the roof
The difference matters, because the treatments have nothing in common.
Sounds like a possum
- Heavy, deliberate thumping — like something the size of a cat walking
- Noise concentrated at dusk when it leaves and near dawn when it returns
- Loud hissing, coughing or screeching, especially in autumn breeding season
- Scratching at a single point where it squeezes through the roof edge
- Large droppings, 2–3 cm, like a big jelly bean
- A strong, sharp smell of urine soaking into ceiling plaster
Sounds like a rodent
- Light, fast scurrying that changes direction quickly
- Continuous gnawing rather than walking
- Activity through the whole night, not just dusk and dawn
- Small droppings, 3–20 mm depending on the species
- Shredded insulation pulled into a nest
- Noise inside a wall cavity rather than above the ceiling
Victorian regulations require a removed brushtail possum to be released on the same property. Nobody can lawfully take it to a park or the bush. This is the fact most quotes leave out.
Possums get in where the roof meets the gutter, through a broken tile, a missing barge capping, or along a branch or downpipe. Overhanging branches do most of the work.
Breeding and territorial disputes make autumn the noisiest season, and it is also when juveniles are looking for a roof of their own.
Our four-step possum removal
Same approach on a period terrace as on a new townhouse.
Inspection
We inspect the roof void and exterior, confirm it is a possum rather than a rodent, and find every entry point — not just the obvious one.
Removal
The animal is removed humanely under licence, using a one-way door or a trap checked to the required schedule.
Proofing
Entry points are sealed with materials a possum cannot chew or lever open, and overhanging branches are identified as the access route.
Clean-up and nest box
Soiled insulation and droppings are removed, the space is sanitised, and a nest box can be installed so the possum has a lawful place to go.
What possum removal costs
Melbourne possum work generally runs from about $280 up to $700 or more once roof access and multiple entry points are involved. Every price below is a from price — the figure depends on roof pitch and access, how many entry points there are and how much clean-up is needed, and you get it in writing before we start.
Inspection and assessment
Roof void and exterior inspection, confirmation of the species and a written list of entry points. Credited against the removal.
Removal and proofing
Humane licensed removal plus sealing of the entry points — the standard job for a single-storey Melbourne home.
Full service with clean-up
Everything above plus soiled insulation removal, sanitising and a nest box installed.
Clear written quotes.We beat any written quote by 5%. Commercial, strata and end-of-lease jobs are quoted on inspection.
12-month proofing warranty
If a possum gets back in through a point we sealed, we return and fix it at no charge for twelve months. The warranty covers the proofing — a removal without sealing cannot be warranted, because the roof is still open and Melbourne has no shortage of possums looking for one.
What a possum in the roof actually costs
Beyond the sleep.
Ceiling damage
Possum urine soaks into plaster and will eventually stain through and, in bad cases, collapse a ceiling sheet.
Insulation
Batts are flattened, soiled and pushed aside, which quietly costs you in heating and cooling every month.
Wiring
Possums chew, and chewed wiring in a roof void is a fire risk as well as an expensive repair.
It gets worse
A roof used by one possum becomes a contested territory. Noise, fighting and mess all increase over a season.
Possum Removal questions we get asked
If yours is not here, call 0435 073 966 — we will answer it on the phone without booking you in first.
Call 0435 073 966How much does possum removal cost in Melbourne?
Melbourne possum work generally runs from around $280 to $700 or more. Ours starts from $200 for inspection, $350 for removal with proofing, and $550 for the full service with insulation clean-up and a nest box. The figure depends on roof access, the number of entry points and the amount of clean-up, and you get it in writing first.
Can you take the possum away?
No, and neither can anyone else lawfully. Brushtail possums are protected in Victoria and a possum removed from a roof must be released on the same property, close to where it was caught. Trapping without a licence or relocating one yourself is illegal. Any operator promising to take it far away is not telling you the truth.
Then how does removal actually work?
By exclusion. We remove the animal, seal every entry point so it cannot get back in, and where you want one we install a nest box so it has somewhere legitimate to go on the property. The sealing is what solves the problem, not the catching.
Is it a possum or a rat in my roof?
Possums are heavy and deliberate — it sounds like something the size of a cat walking, usually at dusk and again near dawn, often with hissing or screeching. Rodents are light and fast, active all night, and gnaw rather than walk. Possum droppings are 2–3 cm; rodent droppings are 3–20 mm.
Can I trap it myself?
No. Using a possum trap without a licence is illegal in Victoria, and there are legal requirements about how often traps are checked and where the animal is released. The penalties are real and the animal usually suffers.
Will another possum move in?
If the entry point is left open, almost certainly — Melbourne’s possum population is dense and a vacant roof cavity is prime territory. That is why proofing is part of our price rather than an optional extra, and why the warranty covers the sealing.
Do you clean up the mess?
Yes. Soiled and flattened insulation is removed, droppings are cleared and the area is sanitised. Possum urine soaks into ceiling plaster, so dealing with it early is what stops the stain coming through later.
What about the tree touching my roof?
That is usually the road in. We will point out which branches give access. Trimming them back is often the single most effective thing you can do, and it costs nothing from us to be told about it.
How quickly can you come out?
Same day across metropolitan Melbourne in most cases, and we answer the phone 24 hours. A possum trapped inside a wall cavity or living space is treated as urgent.
Other services that often come up with this one
Something heavy in the ceiling tonight?
We answer 24 hours a day and we can usually be there the same day.
Get your free quote
Tell us what you have seen or heard. We will call you back with a quote before any work starts.