The southside's green patches
Karawatha Forest
Brisbane City Council puts Karawatha Forest Park at about 900 hectares, from freshwater lagoons and sandstone ridges to dry eucalypt forests and wetlands.
Toohey Forest
About 260 hectares reached from Toohey Road at Tarragindi, with tracks through sandstone and quartzite outcrops. Back fences near reserves like this can expect possums, spiders and the occasional snake, which is a licensed snake catcher's job.
Oxley Creek
The council's Oxley Creek Transformation covers the corridor from the Brisbane River to Larapinta, and the Archerfield Wetlands plan turned 150 hectares of green space into parkland. Low ground like this suits freshwater mosquitoes after rain.
Restricted ants and bees
Business Queensland records yellow crazy ants on light industrial properties in Rocklea, and says Asian honey bees were reported in south-western Brisbane in June 2026. If you suspect them, you've got 24 hours to report them to Biosecurity Queensland.
What a fire ant nest can look like
Brisbane City Council says nests can be inconspicuous, and look like a small bucket of soil gently tipped onto the ground. The ants themselves look ordinary: copper brown with a darker abdomen.
If you suspect one, keep children and pets away, don't touch it or break it open, and report it to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours. Queensland law requires it, and our form won't take it as a job.
Older homes south of the river
Character housing isn't only a northside thing. The council's overlay applies to some streets of older suburbs, keeping the pre-1947 streetscape, and those homes are mostly timber on stumps. A yearly termite inspection is what the QBCC advises.
What you'd want to know is where the stumps meet the ground, and whether anything's been built against the house. Keep timber and garden beds clear, and don't disturb mud tubes if you find them.
For a house near the bush
- Keep grass short along the back fence, where ticks and snakes shelter.
- Stack firewood well away from the house and off the ground.
- Trim branches that reach the roof, since possums use them.
- Check screens and door seals, so spiders stay outside.
Our southside order
Learn the look of a fire ant nest first, because it's the one that can't wait. Then sort the termite inspection, and tidy the fence line if you back onto bush. Everything else can start with 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.
