Two ants to report, not treat
Suspected fire ants must be reported within 24 hours in Queensland: tell Biosecurity Queensland and keep people and pets clear. Yellow crazy ants are restricted too, and they can spray formic acid that may burn skin and eyes, so leave them alone and contact Biosecurity Queensland. Our form doesn't take either job.
What's local to Caboolture
Yellow crazy ants on the state's list
Business Queensland names Caboolture among the places with recorded yellow crazy ant infestations. City of Moreton Bay lists them as a restricted pest, in the same working towards eradication group as fire ants.
How to pick them
They're yellow to brownish, slender and about 5 mm long, with very long legs and antennae. The giveaway is the walk: erratic and frantic, especially when disturbed.
Three catchments
The council's master plan spreads the Caboolture and Morayfield centre across Wararba Creek, the Caboolture River and Sheepstation Creek. Low ground near them holds water after rain, and that's how freshwater mosquitoes get going.
Bush to the west
Sheep Station Creek Conservation Park at Upper Caboolture is a large reserve of remnant bushland and open grassy eucalypt forest. Near country like that, expect ticks in long grass and the odd snake, which is a job for a licensed snake catcher.
Termites are on the owner here
City of Moreton Bay says homeowners are responsible for protecting their property from termites, and should have annual termite inspections. In Queensland that work needs a pest management licence, plus a QBCC licence.
The council splits them into two groups. Subterranean termites keep their nests connected to soil, while drywood termites live in galleries inside timber. So a good inspection looks at the ground and the timber, and you'd leave any mud tubes or hollow wood untouched for the inspector to see.
Before the termite inspector arrives
- Move anything stacked against the walls, so the slab edge and weep holes (small gaps in the brickwork) can be seen.
- Find any paperwork from earlier termite treatments.
- Make sure the roof space and any subfloor can be reached.
- Ask for a written report, with photos of anything found.
What we'd do about pests in Caboolture
Book the annual termite inspection if you've missed it, and get to know your ants. If they're small and coppery, or yellow and frantic, stop and report before anyone treats anything. For everything else, tell us what you've seen with 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.
