Birds get the blame, but on South Coast and Highlands homes it is very often a brushtail or ringtail possum living under the panels. They are heavier, noisier and more destructive than birds — and because they are protected, the approach has to be different.
How do you know it is possums, not birds?
Possums are loud and heavy. You hear thumping and scrabbling across the roof at dusk and again before dawn, rather than the cooing and fluttering of pigeons. Droppings are larger and cylindrical, and you will often see scratch marks on gutters, fascia or the panel frames.
Ringtails tend to build a nest of leaves and bark, while brushtails prefer an open, sheltered ledge — which is exactly what the gap under a panel offers. Both leave a strong smell in the roof space and staining on the wall below.
- Heavy thumping at dusk and just before dawn
- Larger, cylindrical droppings in gutters and on paving below
- Scratch marks on fascia, gutter edges or panel frames
- Strong ammonia smell near the array or roof space
Why do possums choose the space under solar panels?
The gap is typically five to ten centimetres of dry, shaded, predator-free space, warmed by the panels above and open at every edge. On a bush-fringe block in Berry, Kangaroo Valley or Robertson, it is a better den than most tree hollows, and it sits right beside roof access points.
Once one possum has used it, the scent marking attracts others the following season. That is why homeowners often report a quiet first year and a serious problem by the second or third.
- Dry and sheltered from rain and wind
- Warm under the panels on cold Highlands nights
- Safe from dogs, foxes and raptors
- Close to roof gaps that lead into the ceiling cavity
Can you remove a possum from under solar panels?
Possums are protected native animals in NSW, so trapping and relocating them is restricted and generally not the answer. The lawful and effective approach is exclusion: make sure the animal has left, close the entry points, and give it somewhere else to go, such as a nest box in a nearby tree.
Sealing an array while a possum is still underneath is both cruel and expensive to undo, so the timing matters. We check for activity, confirm the space is empty, and only then fit the mesh.
- Do not seal the array until you are certain it is empty
- Trapping and relocating protected wildlife is restricted in NSW
- A nest box nearby gives the animal an alternative den
- Check the ceiling cavity too — the roof is often the next stop
What actually keeps possums out for good?
A metal mesh skirt clipped around the full perimeter of the array, fitted with no-drill clips, is the only reliable exclusion. Possums push straight through plastic netting, pull off cable ties and simply walk over spikes and gels, all of which are made for birds rather than a determined marsupial.
Because possums are strong, the clip spacing and mesh gauge matter more than they do for birds. Any gap they can get a shoulder into will be widened within a week.
- Metal mesh, correctly gauged — never plastic netting
- No-drill clips so panels and roof sheets stay intact
- Tight clip spacing with no shoulder-width gaps
- Existing nesting material cleared and the area disinfected first
What damage do possums do if you leave it?
They chew DC cabling and conduit, dislodge Dektite boots and roof screws, pack leaf and bark litter that blocks gutters and valleys, and leave urine staining that soaks into fascia and rendered walls. Every one of those is more expensive to repair than proofing the array once.
The bushfire angle matters too: dry nesting litter packed under panels sits directly on the roof surface, which is exactly the fuel an ember attack needs on a bush-fringe property.
- Chewed cabling is electrician-rate work to repair
- Blocked gutters and valleys lead to overflow and leaks
- Urine staining on fascia and walls is hard to remove
- Dry nesting litter under panels is a genuine ember trap
Key takeaways
- Heavy thumping at dusk and dawn usually means possums, not birds
- Possums are protected in NSW — exclusion is the lawful fix, not relocation
- Never seal the array until you are certain the space is empty
- Only metal mesh on no-drill clips reliably keeps possums out
- Nesting litter under panels is an ember trap on bush-fringe blocks