Seen a snake near the creek?
Keep people and pets well back, and don't try to catch or kill it. Eastern brown snakes live along Brownhill Creek. That's a job for a snake catcher, not a pest business. For any snake bite, call 000.
Life on the foothills
Brownhill Creek runs past the back fences
Brownhill Creek Recreation Park sits in the City of Mitcham, 8 km south of Adelaide, and its 2003 management plan says homes and council reserves surround it. National Parks lists possums, bats, water rats, frogs and the occasional koala among its permanent residents.
Giant red gums
Some river red gums along the creek are more than 300 years old. Adelaide Hills Council says Coptotermes nests are often in the root crown or lower trunk of eucalypts, so a big gum close to the house is worth mentioning to your inspector.
Deer in the foothills
Green Adelaide says feral deer are regularly sighted in the Mitcham and Belair area. That's one to record in FeralScan, not one for a pest business.
Looking for possum removal in Mitcham?
The South Australian answer is narrower than that phrase sounds. A possum can be trapped only if it's living in a building, never because it's in the garden, and that needs a permit or a permitted possum controller.
Release happens on the same property: within 50 metres of the trap, within 24 hours and after dusk. So the work really centres on finding the gap and closing it, and the environment department says proofing must go hand in hand with any trapping. Our Adelaide possums page goes through it.
Termites and wasps on a leafy street
We hold no termite figures for Mitcham, so go by what's on your own block. Stumps, poles and any old filled in verandah are worth a look, along with damaged wood and mud tubes in the house. If you find either, let them be, because disturbing termites can make them harder to treat.
For a European wasp nest, stay clear of it and ask the City of Mitcham what it offers before you book. We haven't been able to read its current page, and Adelaide councils differ on this. See wasp nests in Adelaide.
What's yours, and what isn't
You can
- Keep branches trimmed back from the roofline.
- Note where and when you hear movement overhead.
- Keep firewood off the ground and away from the walls.
- Photograph signs from a distance.
Leave to a pest business
- Inspecting for termites and writing up the findings.
- Possum proofing, and any trapping under a permit.
- Treating a wasp nest.
- Snakes go to a snake catcher instead.
Our take for Mitcham
If you back onto the creek or the foothills, assume wildlife is part of the deal and put your effort into keeping it out of the roof. When something does get in, tell us what you've seen and your postcode.
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.
