Such havoc a single possum can wreak in a single night. From this:
To this:
It didn’t even eat much; it just tore off the top branches, took a couple of bites out of a capsicum, and then left them in favour of demolishing the tomato seedlings.
Tags: capsicum, possum, wildlife
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on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 10:13 pm and is filed under Container Gardening.
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January 29th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Your pics have helped me be certain to identify the culprit who is eating my garden.
I live in an apartment on the first floor and have window boxes hanging over the balcony rail. They were full of all manner of chilli varrieties including habanero (extremely hot), cayenne (hot) and some other bird-eye types (rather hot). All the green fruit was eaten, most of the leaves and most of the red chilli types. The few ripe yellow habaneros were bitten once and left.
I’ve used Possoff, moth balls, blood and bone and even leaving the lights on but to no avail.
Funny thing is that the chives and spring onions are untouched. It won’t come over the rail onto the balcony as we have a cat and the litter tray is out there.
Any good suggestions to make the possum sod off my little garden would be well appreciated.
Cheers - Virgil.
January 29th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Hi Virgil, it’s funny how the possums have individual tastes - at one house they loved basil and would eat it before anything else, but the possums here don’t like it and adore tomato seedlings instead.
The only thing I’ve found to work consistently to stop them eating everything is to use a mosquito net to protect the plants. It doesn’t look as good but they don’t seem interested in climbing on it or chewing it.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Hi, Kate is right. Possums aquire a taste for varying plants and not necessarily the same type of plant or even the same species. I have seen possums which will eat the rind of a green unripe lemon then go on to totally deleaf the tree and eventually kill it, this was in one area while a Kilometer up the road they wouldn’t touch the citrus trees at all.
There are many theories about what to do with possums eating your garden and many don’t work. The ones that seem to have some effect (better than others anyway) are those which have a strong odur rather than a strong taste. This being the case things like moth balls (camfour) etc seem to have a better result than those which are meant to taste bad.
This being the case Vicks Vapour rub melted into water and sprayed around is as good as anything. I guess the bottom line is that if you want to be absolutely certain that they won’t eat your garden then a gage over your plants it the only way. Rembering of course that they’re protected and we can’t harm them in anyway.