When my son was younger and before I understood that these things really do happen, I would read Possum in the House to him. It is full of possum-y chaos and fabulous illustrations and gave my voice acting skills a challenge with loads of screeches and scratches and arrrgggghhhhhs. 

But now I do know better and – living across from a parcel of bush, thick with eucalypts and fruiting rainforest trees but still in suburbia with its temptation of backyard gardens and easy access bins –I’ve had more than my fair share of possums in my house. 

There was one discovered, mid-roof replacement, that once spooked leapt down onto my bedroom floor before darting outside and up the nearest tree.

There are the possums and their babies and their babies’ babies, who have lived for years within our garage and most recently I found a sort of Inception-style possum. A possum within a house within a house, if you will. 

I have an old double-storey dolls house, which I had started to build but like many of my projects it lost my interest and was taped up with garbage bags and had a towel thrown over it and was relegated to the depths of the garage. But recently, its coverings have started to shift. Bits of plastic have been discarded and litter the floor and the dolls house has taken on a rather musky scent. 

Finally, my curiosity couldn’t take it anymore and I grabbed a stick and gently raised the flap to find not one but two possums squeezed into what would have been a bedroom if the doll-sized furniture hadn’t been kicked aside by the new residents!

The fact is that despite being surrounded by lush bush and a small yard chock full of large trees and shrubs, there are not enough hollows to provide shelter for all of the local animals who need it. 

According to The Australian Museum, more than 170 species in NSW alone rely on tree hollows, including 40 threatened species. And considering that hollows can take decades to form, any decline in trees with hollows is alarming.

But, like all big problems, there is a way for citizen scientists to get involved. 

Report any sightings of hollows you come across, where they are, the size (don’t worry, no tree climbing is required!) and any animals you see coming and going, to the Hollows as Homes Project. 

And for those of you with a possum already in your house, WIRES has a handy guide to creating a nest box to encourage them out of your home and into one of their own.