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Hi Alex,
Yes, banding trees definitely works down here. But two things to watch out for.
Firstly the band must be of material that the possum cannot sink it's quite sharp and sizable claws into it to get a grip (metal is best), wide enough so that they cannot reach across it (the 600mm mentioned earlier is about right) and high enough off the ground so that the possum cannot jump up and grab the trunk above the band.
Second thing is as mentioned in some earlier comments, possums are agile climbers and jumpers. So banding will only work if the tree is sufficiently isolated so that they cannot find another way into the tree. This can be quite a challenge in a standard suburban block.
There is a simple fencing solution for the vegie patch. But again it will only work if the patch and surrounding fence are isolated such that the possum cannot find another way up and over - eg close shrubs, trees power lines etc that they can climb and find ways into the vegie patch. The fence can be any material and a minimum 1 meter high. Then on top of the fence is fixed a section of chicken wire that is curved out away from the vegie patched such that the profile is a complete inverted semi circle. The radius of the loop should be about 300mm. Ordinary fencing wire bent to the same shape is needed every meter or so to support the curved section of chicken wire. The heavier duty chicken wire will be more durable. So the final profile of the fence is like an inverted "j"with the outside loop curving right around and pointing towards the ground. Possums are unable to navigated around the inverted loop section. This is highly effective with many gardens in our area (semi rural with high possum population) protected this way. Care needs to be taken to close off all possible access points, So the gate to the vegie patch will need the same treatment and as mentioned earlier they are agile climbers and only need the smallest of "toe hold" to find a way in. After all this, you may not have the room to be able to do this. The only other method that does not require regular attention is to fully enclose the vegie patch.
Cheers
Steve.
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