Wildlife Removal near you

No. In New South Wales, possums are protected under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and catching and releasing them is illegal without a licence; where a licensed handler does it, the animal must be released on the property where it was captured, at dusk, no more than 150 metres from the point of capture, near something it can immediately climb. Victoria allows residents to trap brushtail possums living in buildings under a Governor in Council Order, but requires release on the same property within 50 metres of the capture site, and relocation beyond that is prohibited. Possums are territorial, and one dumped in unfamiliar territory is attacked by residents and frequently dies.

Not by handling them, under any circumstances. NSW Health advises that only people vaccinated against rabies and trained in handling bats should ever handle bats or flying foxes, because any bat in Australia could potentially carry Australian bat lyssavirus and its appearance or behaviour tells you nothing about whether it does. The reassuring part is that contact with bat faeces, urine or blood, and being near a roost, does not pose a risk of infection as long as the bats are not handled. Contact your state wildlife authority or a licensed wildlife rescue group, and treat exclusion as a job to be planned around the animals' biology rather than done in an afternoon.

Keep everyone away from it and call a licensed snake catcher. Do not try to catch it, corner it, hose it, throw things at it or kill it. Move children and pets indoors, keep the animal in view from a safe distance if you can do that without going near it, and if it is inside the house, shut the door of the room and place a towel along the gap at the bottom. Most snakebites in Australia happen to people who were interfering with the animal. If someone is bitten, call triple zero immediately and keep the person still.

Ask which authority they hold, under which Act, and for which species, then check it rather than taking it on trust. In New South Wales, catch-and-release possum handlers operate under a biodiversity conservation licence granted under Part 2 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, and there is a public register of wildlife licences. In Victoria, trapping brushtail possums in buildings relies on a Governor in Council Order, while lethal control needs an Authority to Control Wildlife from the state department. An operator who cannot name their authority is not the person for this job.

Not if it is done in the right order, and very much so if it is not. Done properly, a one-way door lets the animal leave of its own accord at night and prevents it returning, an alternative nest box is provided nearby, and the roof is sealed only once nobody is left inside. Done badly, the roof is sealed with an animal still in it, or with dependent young left behind after the mother has been excluded, which is why the timing of the work and a proper check for young are not optional parts of the process.