What Blacktown does differently
Council's possum rule
Council says trapping a possum in a roof takes a special licence from the NPWS (the state's national parks service), and the animal must go back onto your property, because it won't survive if taken from the area. Using poison on a possum is an offence.
Street trees stay
Council won't prune or remove trees on public land to deter insects or animals, bees and possums included. So the fix happens at your roofline, not at the footpath.
What's left of the woodland
Over 122,000 hectares of Cumberland Plain Woodland once grew across western Sydney, council says, and only 7% remains. The woodland along waterways works as a wildlife corridor, so possums and other animals still travel through the suburbs.
A quiet mosquito reading
NSW Health rated its Blacktown trap location low in the week ending 7 February 2026. One week isn't a season, but it's a useful marker against other parts of Sydney.
Hearing something in the roof?
Work out what it is
Heavy thumps from dusk usually mean a possum, and fast scratching points to rats or mice. NSW Government guidance suggests watching the roofline at dusk, or sprinkling flour near a likely entry point to read the footprints.
Leave it where it is for now
Don't trap it, bait it or try to chase it out. In NSW that needs a licence, and poison is an offence.
Get the right person
Ask whoever you hire if they hold a current NSW catch and release licence. A pest business can handle rats and mice, and some also do possum work.
Close the gap at the right time
NSW advice is to shut access points only once you're sure the possum has gone out to feed, usually at night. Seal it in and you've got a bigger problem.
The other Blacktown regulars
German cockroaches in kitchens, rats and mice in cooler weather, and termite inspections for anyone buying or renovating make up the rest of the list. Rodent control works from the outside in: bins, compost, pet food and fallen fruit first, then entry points.
Thinking about a building and pest inspection? We can match the timber pest part. The building report comes from a builder, surveyor or architect, and our guide explains how the two fit together.
What we'd do about pests in Blacktown
Before spending anything on a roof noise, spend one evening watching the roofline with a torch. You'll usually know by dark what you're dealing with, and that decides who to call. Then send us what you saw.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
