Paul Britt and his fiancée had a terrible ordeal.

Their landlord spent months and thousands of dollars trying to get rid of a family of possums in their roof.

"The possums would actually stay up all night scratching the wall right next to my head on the bed, as if zombies were on the other side," says Mr Britt.

Male possums trying to win the attention of a female sounded like monkeys on their tin roof, dancing the night away.

Their screeching was terrifying.

Mr Britt says laws forbid moving possums (they have to be released to the nearest tree), so all that the pest controller could do was block their entry into the home.

The pest controller documented the family, including when the mother possum kicked her son out.

"I think the laws need to be changed so these pests can be captured and put down if they infest a house.

"As cute as they are, they are worse than rats – due to the noise they make all night."

Neal Gowen reckons if you can't beat them, allow them to join you.

"When we bought our house in 1998 we inherited a female possum who lived in the kitchen air vent above the fuel stove.

"She always pushed open the air vent door for a healthy breakfast in the morning but never came into the house."

The possum died in 2006.

Her offspring still hang around the place.

"They have their early morning punch-ups to decide who sleeps where for the day, " Mr Gowen said.

"They are, however fairly laid-back possums, with a preference for listening to cool jazz while lazing above our outdoor speakers in the rear patio during the day."