Possum Removal in Unley
Possum removal Unley and Unley Park owners ask for comes with a condition: the house is listed or in a heritage area, and nothing done to the roof can show. The gardens are a century old, the trees touch the slate, and the possum has used one verandah junction for years. Symes SA removes it under licence and seals the roof in a way a heritage adviser would not notice.
- HousingVillas, bungalows, Unley Park estates
- RoofsSlate, iron and terracotta, often listed
- Usual entryVerandah junction, slate ridge
- Also coveredUnley Park, Malvern, Hyde Park, Goodwood
- From our baseShort inner-south run
What possum problems are specific to Unley?
The garden is the possum's home and the villa is its winter quarters. Unley's gardens of jacarandas, figs and gums have grown since the houses went up, so every roof has a branch on it. The heritage overlay then limits what can be done about it: no visible mesh, no drilling into stone or original timber.
Unley Park raises the stakes, with larger homes on bigger blocks, and slate roofs that cannot be walked carelessly.
What do Unley's heritage roofs look like?
Slate and iron on the Victorian and Edwardian villas, terracotta on the Federation and Californian bungalows, all steeply pitched with return verandahs, bay windows and chimneys. The weak points are the junctions: where the verandah roof runs under the main roof, where a chimney passes through, and where a slate ridge has lost its mortar.
Caged in the garden
Where do possums get into an Unley villa?
Almost always where the verandah meets the house or where a chimney or ridge has opened. Edward checks each from the roof, on crawl boards over slate, and confirms the live entry from inside.
- Verandah junctionThe return verandah's iron runs under the main roof with an open top edge along its length.
- Chimney flashingLead flashing around the stack lifted or split after a century.
- Slate ridgeRidge rolls or tiles loose where the mortar has failed.
- Bay window roofThe small roof over a bay meeting the wall under a lifted flashing.
How is an Unley possum removed?
Where the entry is a single verandah junction, a one-way door goes over it and the possum walks out at dusk into the garden it already lives in. Where the roof has several open junctions, a cage is set on its track, in the roof or in the garden, and the animal goes back into the garden that evening under the licence.
Slate means crawl boards and a harness, with nothing screwed into the roof to anchor either, and a large Unley Park roof takes longer than a bungalow.
Is the Unley entry sealed without changing the house?
Yes, and on the same visit. The verandah top edge is closed with steel mesh fitted behind the fascia and under the iron, the chimney flashing is redressed, and slate ridges are re-bedded with matching mortar. Mesh is fixed to iron and to modern battens, never to stone or original timber, and nothing is visible from the street or the garden.
The remaining junctions are listed and quoted as roof possum proofing, done the same way. Where a possum is also living in a shed or under a deck in the garden, that is covered on the under deck and backyard page.
How quickly do we reach Unley?
Unley is a short run north from the southern base, so a morning call is usually attended the same day and you are given the window when you ring. Unley Park, Malvern, Hyde Park and Goodwood are on the same run.
Suburbs not named here appear under service areas.
What does it cost in Unley?
Removal and sealing are priced as two lines once the roof has been walked. Unley figures reflect steep slate, harness work and sealing that has to be invisible and reversible, which takes longer than a mesh panel on a modern eave. The proofing of the other junctions is a separate line, and on a listed house it is the price of never explaining a visible patch to a heritage adviser.
The lines are set out under possum removal cost, while the possum removal pillar explains the licence.
Possum removal Unley: what heritage owners want settled
How quickly can you get to Unley?
Usually within the day, because Unley is a short run from the southern base. The window is given when you ring, Unley Park and the neighbouring suburbs are on the same run, and Saturdays are worked.
Will the sealing be visible on a listed house?
No. Mesh goes behind the fascia and under the iron, flashing is redressed in the original material, and slate ridges are re-bedded to match. Nothing is fixed to stone or original timber and nothing changes the roofline, so there is no patch for a heritage adviser to see.
Is it legal to relocate the possum?
Your own garden, and no further. The animal is released at dusk on the same block, beside the trap, which is the state rule and the scope of the Symes SA licence; the detail is in our SA possum law guide. It goes back to the jacaranda; the sealed junction keeps it there.
What if it comes back?
With a garden full of trees, it will try another junction if one is open. Sealed work is covered by the warranty on the invoice and is repaired without charge if it fails; a junction outside the original job is priced from the list you already hold.
Possum in an Unley villa? Removed, and sealed so the house looks untouched.
Licensed removal, heritage-safe sealing behind the fascia, and a short run from our base.