Dealing With Possums and Rabbits Without Losing Your Mind
Nothing is more demoralising than waking up to find your carefully tended roses stripped bare overnight, or your newly planted seedlings chewed to stumps. On the Mornington Peninsula, possums and rabbits are the main culprits, and both are protected species — so you need to outsmart them, not harm them.
Possums
Brushtail and Ringtail possums are everywhere on the Peninsula. They’re nocturnal, they love roses, and they have absolutely no respect for your garden plans.
What they eat: New growth on roses, fruit tree buds, flowers, soft-leaved plants, and pretty much anything you’ve just planted. They have favourites — roses, gardenias, camellias, and anything in the daisy family seem to be particularly irresistible.
What actually works:
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Netting — the most reliable solution. Drape bird netting over roses and vulnerable plants, secured at the base so possums can’t get underneath. It’s not pretty, but it works. For fruit trees, a full net enclosure is the only guarantee.
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Possum-deterrent sprays — products like Poss Off or homemade chilli and garlic sprays can work, but need reapplying after rain and every week or so. Mix a tablespoon of chilli flakes, a crushed garlic bulb, and a tablespoon of dish soap in a litre of water. Strain and spray on foliage. The taste deters them, but persistence is key.
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Blood and bone — spreading blood and bone around the base of plants sometimes deters possums. The smell suggests a predator. Results vary.
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Motion-activated sprinklers — these startle possums with a burst of water when they trigger the sensor. Effective but you’ll need to vary the position or possums learn to avoid the sensor zone.
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Plant things they don’t like — strongly aromatic plants like lavender, rosemary, and geraniums are generally left alone. So are most Australian natives, spiky plants, and anything with grey or furry foliage.
What doesn’t work: Mothballs (toxic and illegal to use outdoors), ultrasonic devices (possums ignore them within days), and getting angry at them (they don’t care).
Rabbits
Wild rabbits are a serious problem in parts of the Peninsula, particularly near bushland, golf courses, and reserves. They breed prolifically and can devastate a garden.
What they eat: Young plants, seedlings, bark on young trees, bulbs, vegetables — basically anything at ground level. They’re particularly destructive to new plantings because they nip stems right at the base.
What actually works:
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Chicken wire guards — wrap young tree trunks and shrubs with chicken wire (or purpose-made tree guards) to at least 50 centimetres high. This is essential for any new planting in rabbit-prone areas.
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Rabbit-proof fencing — for vegetable gardens and high-value areas, bury chicken wire 15 centimetres below ground (rabbits dig) and extend it at least 90 centimetres above ground. Bend the top outward slightly. It’s a project, but it’s permanent.
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Plant selection — rabbits avoid strongly scented plants (lavender, rosemary, sage), plants with prickly or tough foliage (agaves, flax, ornamental grasses), and most Australian natives. They’re attracted to soft, lush growth — another reason not to over-fertilise.
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Remove harbour — rabbits feel vulnerable in the open. Remove piles of debris, dense ground-level vegetation near garden beds, and block access under sheds and decking where they shelter.
What doesn’t work: Repellent sprays (rain washes them off and rabbits are less deterred than possums), fake predator statues (rabbits figure them out quickly), and hoping they’ll go away (they won’t — they’ll have babies instead).
The Coexistence Approach
Both possums and rabbits are native wildlife, and part of living on the Peninsula means sharing space with them. The most sustainable approach combines physical barriers (netting, guards, fencing) with smart plant selection.
Over time, you learn which plants your local possums and rabbits leave alone, and you plant more of those. The garden evolves to coexist with its wildlife, which is honestly how a Peninsula garden should work.
And if a possum eats your prize rose right before a garden open day — well, that’s a story for the neighbours.