What sets Salisbury apart
Saltmarsh mosquitoes don't stay at the coast
The City of Salisbury's July 2025 plan says species breeding in the saltmarshes spread to inner suburbs, so you can be bitten a long way from the samphire flats. Trapping found 15 mosquito species in the city.
Two biting seasons, back to back
Aedes camptorhynchus is abundant through spring and early summer, peaking in November to December. Aedes vigilax, which the council calls a very aggressive biter, follows from January to April, with its peak in February and March.
The program runs on public land
Between 1 September and 30 April the council's contractor checks high risk areas every fortnight. Globe Derby Park, St Kilda, Greenfields, Parafield Gardens and Mawson Lakes are on the regular list, and SA Health looks after the big mangrove and samphire area west of Globe Derby.
Your own tank counts
Breeding around homes adds to the total. The plan names water tanks, containers, tyres, septic tanks and effluent systems, so the yard is where you can change something.
Is a mosquito problem a pest control job?
Partly. Clear your own water first, because treating a yard does little while a tank or a stack of tyres keeps producing mosquitoes. A pest business can then look at what's left.
The plan also records Culex annulirostris, a major disease vector, across the city. That's a dated public health fact, and no pest business can prevent disease, so follow SA Health's Fight the Bite campaign when they're biting.
Rodent control in Salisbury
Where you hear them tells you a lot. The City of Adelaide's pest guide says Norway rats tunnel and burrow at ground level, while roof rats prefer trees, vines, rafters and upper floors. Look for droppings about 1 cm long, gnawed materials and oily marks along their runs.
We haven't been able to read the City of Salisbury's own rats page, so ask the council what it will look at. Then tell a pest business where you've seen the signs, because that decides the plan. Rats and mice in Adelaide has more.
Termite inspection in Salisbury
We have no Salisbury figures on termites, and we won't pretend otherwise. What's known across South Australia is that Coptotermes frenchii is common in urban areas with softwood or Oregon framing, so ask the inspector what your frame is made of. Damaged wood and mud tubes are the signs to report, and they're best left undisturbed until someone has seen them.
Before the spring mosquitoes arrive
- Check rainwater tank screens and overflows.
- Empty or store tyres, buckets, trailers and anything else that holds water.
- Look around again 5 to 7 days after heavy rain, the same window the council's plan uses.
- Make sure septic and effluent systems are covered and working.
What we'd do in Salisbury
Walk the yard in early spring and deal with every bit of standing water before the November biting starts. If it's rats in the ceiling, a nest or a termite question, 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.
