Stafford and the brook
In the middle of the catchment
Brisbane City Council lists Stafford in the Kedron Brook catchment, over 110 square kilometres of northern Brisbane, running from Ferny Grove to Nudgee.
Hickey Park
In the council's March 2026 summary, people at Hickey Park valued wildlife and green space and called for flood resilience. Feedback on the middle catchment singled out its pockets of native vegetation.
Stafford Heights
Stafford Heights shares postcode 4053 and has its own alert: the council lists it under Downfall Creek, with Chermside West and Everton Park.
Rats and mice near the water
Rats like burrows along walls, under buildings, in creek banks and in stacked materials, which makes a yard near the brook worth a look. Noises at night, greasy rub marks on walls and gnawed cables are the signs. Queensland Government advice for rats and mice is to contact a pest control business.
Mice move indoors as it cools, CSIRO says, so expect the first ceiling noises around autumn. Keep food sealed and rubbish bins shut, and block small gaps around pipes.
A child who's swallowed rat bait needs the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26, and a pet needs the vet, now.
Who does what around the yard
You can
- Keep stacked materials off the ground and away from fences.
- Clear pot plant saucers and bird baths after rain.
- Keep garden beds down from the weep holes.
- Note where and when you hear scratching.
Leave to a pest business
- Finding where rats are getting in, and treating them.
- Termite inspections and any termite treatment.
- Possum proofing on a roof, under Queensland's rules.
Termites and buying in Stafford
Termite signs are damaged wood and mud tubes. Leave them undisturbed and tell the inspector where they are. The QBCC's advice of a yearly inspection and report is a sensible baseline, and in Queensland termite work needs a QBCC licence along with a pest licence.
If you're buying, a building and pest inspection covers two jobs with two licences. A termite inspection is the part we can help with; the building side is a different profession.
If we lived in Stafford
We'd clear the yard after rain, look for rub marks before calling anyone about noises, and book a termite inspection if the last one's a guess. Then tell us what you've got 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.
