POUCH

25/06/2026

07/06/2026

The space between your floor and the ground — dark, damp, forgotten — is the most biologically active zone in your house. You never go there. Four predators live there permanently.

The house centipede patrols the damp areas. She eats cockroaches, silverfish, termites, and carpet beetle larvae — every insect you'd pay an exterminator to handle. Her venom is too mild to break your skin. She runs from you at a foot per second. She's the fastest thing in the crawl space and she's terrified of you.

The cellar spider builds loose webs in the corners and catches everything that wanders in — including brown recluses and black widows. She wraps dangerous spiders in silk from a safe distance before they can strike.

The wolf spider hunts the open floor at night — no web, pure pursuit predation. Crickets, cockroaches, earwigs. She's the largest spider down there because she eats the most.

The ground beetle works the soil interface where crawl space meets dirt. Cutworms, slug eggs, small insect larvae. She's the first predator active in spring and the last one hunting in fall.

You've never been in your crawl space. They've never left it. Everything that would have crawled upstairs through the gaps in your floor met them first.

The crawl space isn't empty. It's garrisoned.

25/05/2026

BREAKING: Victoria has released its annual data for “Authorities to Control Wildlife”, showing a sharp rise in native animals approved to be killed.

⚠️ Included were 4,321 wombats approved to be killed , a massive increase on the 2,692 the Victorian Government allowed in 2024.

Victoria also approved the killing of:
- 162,644 eastern grey kangaroos
- 870 galahs
- 3,410 rainbow lorikeets
- 424 brushtail possums

These are sentient animals. They are part of Victoria’s ecosystems, landscapes, and identity. Yet the state continues to authorise killing on a scale most people would never imagine.

This isn’t “control”. This is a system that normalises the mass killing of wildlife quietly, annually and with government approval.

Find out more about Victoria’s licence to kill system and how we can end the disturbing practice here: https://takeaction.humaneworld.org/page/186199/action/1?locale=en-AU

22/05/2026

30/04/2026

We’d put up possum boxes, but we haven’t been asked to.
We’d advise on tree removal and how to manage displaced wildlife, but we were never consulted.
We shouldn’t be in the position of stepping in after the fact. Wildlife experts should be part of the process from the beginning if it’s expected that volunteers will then manage the fallout in the parklands.
Right now, that work sits with us. And we’re volunteers. The costs of transport, care, and ongoing rehabilitation come from donations and from volunteer pockets.
If wildlife is going to be displaced, then planning for their protection and ongoing survival needs to happen before the trees come down, not after.

https://www.save-our-wildlife.org.au



Peter Malinauskas

24/04/2026

Possums in Your Roof? Here’s How to Evict Your Furry, Noisy, Uninvited Tenants (Politely.)

So, you’ve heard thumping, scratching, or what sounds suspiciously like a possum hosting a midnight Zumba class above your ceiling. Congratulations, you may be the proud landlord of a brushtail possum who is not paying rent, contributing to utilities, or respecting quiet hours.

Here’s how to handle the situation without losing your sanity (or your roof insulation):

1. Confirm the Culprit

If the noise is:
• Heavy footsteps → possum
• Light scurrying → rat
• Demonic screeching → probably still a possum, they’re dramatic like that
• Dragging sound → king skink

2. Block Off the Snack Bar

Possums love easy access. Trim branches, secure bins, and remove the “all-you-can-eat” buffet that is your fruit tree.
If you have a mulberry tree… well… good luck.

3. Find the Entry Point

Look for gaps, holes, or suspicious possum‑sized doorways.
If you find a possum‑shaped hole, congratulations, you’ve found the possum’s Airbnb.

4. Encourage Them to Leave (Humanely!)

Possums are protected native wildlife, which means in Australia it’s very much illegal to harm, harass, or relocate them without the proper approvals. Penalties apply, and honestly, no one wants to explain to a magistrate why they attempted a DIY possum eviction, so no traps, poison, or medieval siege tactics.
Instead, try:

• A one-way door (the possum leaves, can’t get back in, like a nightclub with strict bouncers)
• Bright lights
• Loud radio (Possums hate talkback radio. Honestly, same.)

5. Seal the Entry Point

Once you have found the entry point, wait till the possum has left for the night and then you can block it with wire mesh or a wooden panel, but only once you’re sure the possum is out.

Otherwise, you’ll have:
• A trapped possum
• A very angry possum
• A very expensive ceiling repair
• A story you’ll be telling for years

6. Provide an Alternative Home

Install a possum box in a nearby tree, ideally a few meters from the ground.

It’s like saying: “Hey buddy, you can’t live in my house, but you can live near my house. Boundaries.”

Darling Range Wildlife Shelter can provide possum boxes, see our website for more information.

7. Call a Wildlife Shelter for more advice

If the possum refuses to leave, is injured, or is giving you the “make me” face, call your local wildlife rescue legends. They deal with this daily and have the patience of saints.

So, Why all the rules? Because possums rely on tree hollows, and those hollows take over a century to form. One hundred years! That’s longer than most of us commit to a gym membership. As bushland has been cleared for houses, sheds, and the occasional unnecessarily large driveway, natural hollows have become rare. So your roof? To a possum, it’s basically a luxury penthouse with excellent insulation and zero rent.

They’re not invading, they’re adapting to the housing crisis we created!

That’s why the goal isn’t to boot them off your property entirely, but to coexist and gently encourage them to move somewhere more appropriate (preferably somewhere that doesn’t involve them doing laps above your bedroom at 3am).

And here’s the kicker: common brushtail possums are extremely territorial. They have set home ranges and defend their den sites like tiny, furry security guards. In places like the Perth Hills, where natural hollows are scarce, every decent possum hideout is already taken. So, if you remove one possum, another will simply move in, like a never‑ending game of possum musical chairs.

https://www.darlingrangewildlife.com.au