Our strategic biodiversity vision is “a landscape where biodiversity is prioritised in all decisions, ensuring the long-term ecological integrity of the Shire that enhances the quality of life, work and play for all.”
Our strategic goals are to protect, retain, enhance, educate and collaborate when it comes to our natural environment.
This page aims to provide useful news and resources about living alongside local wildlife. Please explore the drop-down items below to find out more about each topic.
Owl-Friendly Movement
We are part of the owl-friendly movement.
This is a growing group of local governments that protect owls by using better pest control methods.
What’s it all about?
Owls are very important to a healthy, balanced ecosystem. They help prevent the destruction of vegetation and farm crops by eating rodents. A family of barn owls can eat more than 1,000 rodents yearly!
Local governments and private landowners may control rodents using rodenticides. Some rodenticides are more harmful than others. If rodents consume especially harmful rodenticides, the owl may be harmed or killed. These especially harmful rodenticides are known as second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides or SGARS.
What are we doing?
We have been using first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) for quite some time.
These rodenticides are less likely to cause secondary poisoning in non-target animals.
Benefits can include:
- Supporting biodiversity: Owls play a vital role in regulating ecosystems by controlling the overpopulation of other species and reducing pests, which benefits native flora and fauna.
- Promoting natural pest control: Owls are natural pest control. They minimise the need for rodenticides, reducing costs and harm to the environment.
- Reducing disease spread: Owls reduce the spread of disease by controlling rodent populations.
Here are some additional resources to help you give a hoot!
Identification
If you have an animal living in your roof, it’s probably a possum, rat, bird or lizard – but most likely a possum or a rat.
- If you have a possum in your roof, it’s either a Brushtail or a Ringtail Possum. These are native marsupials and often crawl into the roof to rest during the day before searching for food outside at night. It is illegal to harm or relocate possums to other areas.
- If you have a rat in the roof, it’s most likely either a black rat (Roof Rat) or a brown rat (Norway Rat). Unlike possums, rats are not native to Australia and are considered a pest species. You can humanely trap and dispose of them.
The apple test
There are a few telltale signs that something is living in your roof. These include:
- Structural damage – such as damage to plasterboard, ceiling cavities or weatherboards, chewed wiring and urine stains.
- Nests – Rats that have lived in your roof for a while will create a nest.
- Droppings and smell – Droppings or a lingering smell are signs that possums or rats are living in your roof. Rat droppings are pointier and skinnier than possum droppings.
- Noises – Such as scurrying, scampering or thumping sounds, particularly at night. Possums are likely to leave the house at night and return in the early hours of the morning. They are also significantly heavier than rats, so they generally make more of an impact on the ceiling.
If you are unsure whether you are living with a possum or rat, place an apple in the ceiling where you suspect the animal is.
- If it’s completely gone the next morning, you likely have possums.
- If it’s been gnawed at the next morning, you likely have rats.
What should I do?
Set traps for rats: Traditional snap traps are generally the most effective. Electronic traps and life traps for capture and release away from your home are also often used. Poison is not recommended.
Block entryways: Patch holes at night while the possum is out feeding. You can also deter the possum by coating the entrance with disinfectant. This will prevent the possum from identifying the entranceway.
Call an expert: If are unable to remove the animal yourself, call a Pest Control Expert. They will make sure the job is done humanely, and in accordance with the correct laws.
For more information, download our handy booklet at the link below.
