Is a building and pest inspection one job in Byron Bay?

They're two inspections, often in one report: a building inspection by a builder, surveyor or architect, and a timber pest inspection for termites. NSW Government advice is to get the pest inspection too, because a building report won't show live termites.

What if I find a funnel-web in the house?

Keep everyone away from it and don't try to catch it or pick it up. Close the room if you can and call a pest business. If anyone's bitten, call 000.

Pest control Byron Bay: spiders, termites and fire ants

Bitten by a big black spider?

healthdirect says to treat any big black spider bite as a medical emergency: call 000 and ask for an ambulance. Lie the person down and keep them still, wrap an elasticated roller bandage over the bite and the limb, and splint it. Use that bandage only for funnel-web or mouse spider bites. The Poisons Information Centre is on 13 11 26 for advice about other bites.

What's different in Byron Shire

Fire ant drop-in sessions came to town

After fire ant detections at South Murwillumbah and Wardell, the NSW Government ran drop-in sessions from 27 February to 1 March 2024 in Northern Rivers towns including Byron Bay, Mullumbimby and Suffolk Park. Fire ants travel in soil, mulch, hay and turf.

On the Japanese encephalitis list

As at 30 July 2026, NSW Health lists Byron as a Japanese encephalitis high risk area. Ask NSW Health or your GP about it; a pest business doesn't prevent it.

Northern coast mosquito figures

NSW Health says Ross River virus was still the main mosquito-borne disease in NSW in 2024 to 2025, with the heaviest burden inland and on the northern coast. Northern NSW Local Health District had 69 Ross River and 27 Barmah Forest notifications that season.

Which spiders are worth a call?

Funnel-webs live in eastern Australia's moist forests, from Tasmania to north Queensland, the Australian Museum says. Males wander at night in the warmer months, from November to April, often after wet weather, and sometimes end up in pools or houses. They can survive 24 to 30 hours under water, so a spider at the bottom of the pool may still be alive.

Redbacks are more of a summer spider, and the museum says bites happen most over those months. For a redback bite, healthdirect's advice is different: wash it, use a cold pack for 15 minutes, and see a doctor if symptoms are bad. No pressure bandage.

White-tailed spiders and huntsmen cause plenty of alarm and little harm. healthdirect says white-tail bites don't cause skin ulcers, and huntsmen aren't considered dangerous.

When a spider treatment makes sense

One huntsman on the wall isn't a reason to book anyone. A pest business earns its visit when you keep finding redbacks around play areas, outdoor furniture and sheds, or big black spiders getting in under doors. Ask what the treatment covers, which product they'll use by its full name, and how long before kids and pets go back out.

Funnel-webs shelter in damp spots, so the Australian Museum advises checking shoes, clothing and bedding, especially anything left on the floor. Sealing gaps under doors helps keep wanderers outside.

Our advice for Byron

Learn the two first aid routines, big black spider and redback, before you need them. For the house, we'd book a termite inspection if you're buying or it's been a while, and look over any new turf or mulch for strange mounds.

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.

What have you seen?