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Management programme

Sustained control (excluding the Hūnua Pest Management Area)

Site-led (Hūnua Pest Management Area)
Objective
Reduce the numbers and impacts of possums particularly in priority possum control areas (PPCA) and on land adjacent to areas where possums are being controlled across the Waikato region.
Impacts
Economic, biodiversity, soil resources, human health, social and cultural wellbeing, amenity/recreation, animal welfare

Brushtail possums, native to Australia, were introduced to New Zealand between 1837 and 1898 to establish a fur trade. Initially a protected animal, this status was lifted in 1947 when it became apparent that the environmental damage caused by possums outweighed any profit from the sale of its skins. Today, possums are considered to be the major ecological and agricultural vertebrate animal pest in New Zealand.

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What do they look like?

Possums are generally similar in size to a cat but their size, weight (average 2kg to 3kg) and colouring can vary greatly throughout New Zealand. Males are generally larger than females. They are a marsupial, which means females carry their young in a pouch. Possums reach maturity at between 1 and 2 years old and have an average lifespan of 7-10 years.

  • Possums have a small head with a pointed snout and oval ears.
  • They have large eyes and catlike whiskers characteristic of nocturnal animals.
  • Their thick, woolly fur is brown, silver-grey, black, or cream (or a combination of shades).
  • They have a long black bushy tail.
  • They have a darkly stained sternal gland on their chest.

Why are they pests?

Possums have a significant impact on many of the Waikato region’s natural ecosystems. They prey on the eggs and chicks of various threatened and culturally valued birds, including  kōkako, and compete for nest sites with hole-nesting birds, like saddlebacks and native parrots like kākā. They also compete directly with native birds and reptiles for food by eating the same buds, flowers, fruit/berries and nectar. Possums also eat invertebrates including wētā and are a significant predator of our native land snails.

Heavy selective browsing by possums can suppress or eliminate preferred plants. This can alter the vegetation composition in invaded ecosystems, ultimately leading to the collapse of palatable canopy species like kāmahi, pōhutukawa or northern rātā. Possums are also considered serious agricultural pests. They are vectors for bovine TB in cattle and compete directly with stock for pasture. They also have the potential to transmit diseases to humans.

Responsibility for control

No one is allowed to possess a live possum in the Waikato region (rule POSS-1 of the Waikato Regional Pest Management Plan 2022-2032).

All occupiers within a Priority Possum Control Area (PPCA) in the Waikato are required to allow council staff and its contractors to monitor and control possums on their property (rules POSS-2 and POSS-3 of the RPMP 2022-2032).

Areas within the PPCAs have been identified by our council as needing possum control in order to:

  • protect and enhance biodiversity values (including improving the stability of catchments)
  • enhance farm production
  • maintain the gains of previous or existing possum control.

All PPCA control work is funded by Waikato Regional Council via rates. Waikato Regional Council also provides advice, information, and pest contractor contact information to those occupiers in the Waikato region who wish to control possums on their land but whose properties do not lie within a PPCA.

Extensive possum control is also carried out by the Department of Conservation (DOC) to reduce the effects of possums on protected public conservation land. TBfree New Zealand also controls possums in order to eradicate bovine TB. In many cases, the council and these agencies work together to manage possums.

Good Neighbour Rule 

Occupiers within the Waikato region are required to control common brushtail possums to a 5% Residual Trap Catch within 500m of land being managed for production and/or environmental purposes, where the adjacent or nearby occupier is taking reasonable measures to manage possums on the land they occupy (rule GNR POSS-4 of the RPMP 2022-2032.

Auckland Council is responsible for a site-led pest management programme within the Hūnua Ranges Pest Management Area.

In relation to common brushtail possums in this area, no person shall:

  • cause or permit common brushtail possums to be in a place where they are offered for sale or exhibited (without a permit)
  • sell or offer common brushtail possums for sale
  • breed, or multiply common brushtail possums or otherwise act in such a manner as is likely to encourage or cause the breeding or multiplication of common brushtail possums (rule HŪNUA-3 of the RPMP 2022-2032).

 

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Checking for signs of possums

To check for possums, look out for the distinctive signs of possum browse. Possums usually feed on foliage by holding branches in their paws, using their teeth to tear the leaves. They usually leave behind the leaf stalk, base and midrib and some tattered leaf remnants. Look out for discarded and partially eaten leaves, flowers and fruit beneath feed trees. Heavy and persistent possum browsing will kill a tree.

Other signs of possums to look out for include:

  • ‘runs’ (tracks) used nightly by possums to travel to and from feeding areas (very distinctive in grassed areas)
  • claw marks on trees, fence posts and gates
  • bark biting (horizontal bites) on trees
  • possum droppings scattered under food trees and in the forks of trees
  • droppings approximately 2.5cm long and slightly thicker than a pencil.

Discouraging possums

Repellents, tree guards and fence barriers

  • There are a number of repellents designed to deter possums and other browsing animals from damaging young trees, however, they do not provide total protection. Repellents are not practicable for tuberculosis (TB) control or protecting native forests.
  • Tree guards are physical barriers used to keep possums from damaging young trees and seedlings. Sheet metal strips or bands (40 to 45cm wide) effectively stop possums from climbing a tree.

Habitat manipulation

Reduce suitable possum habitat by removing piles of logs, dead trees and stumps. Where possible, block off entry into sheds, roofs and buildings.

 

Possum as pets

Under the council’s Regional Pest Management Plan, it is illegal to keep a possum as a pet.

How can I control them?

There are a range of control tools available for possums, including trapping, shooting and poisoning.

Predator Free New Zealand and Bionet have best practice advice on their websites for landowners and community groups on how to undertake possum control.

You can also speak to one of our animal pest staff for advice and information on controlling possums on freephone 0800 800 401.

More information and advice