Coping with nature

This time of the year our Chinese Pistachio sprouts new leaves . . .

But within a week the new growths quickly become this . . .

Year after year, the tree ends up an unsightly mess with a denuded top . . .

We initially thought it was due to some insects, but we found the real culprit, the common possums . . .

The creature is protected, so we cannot do anything to it. The local shire does not even permit us to trap the mammals and transport it elsewhere. We tried many ways to deter the mammals but to no avail, such as hanging socks full of naphthalene, cover the trunk with smooth plastic sheet to stop them climbing up, and even offer apples as alternative feed. Ultimately, we may just have to replace the tree with one that is not so delicious.