What's different in Tuggeranong
A district, not a council
The ACT has no councils, so public land sits with the ACT Government. Report a European wasp nest on its land with the online form, then contact Access Canberra with the reference code.
A lake built to catch runoff
Lake Tuggeranong was established in 1987 as a settling pond beside the Town Centre, and the ACT Government has a 10 year plan to reduce its algal blooms. It's there to catch stormwater, so pest questions start at your own place.
Reserves at the back fence
Tuggeranong Hill Nature Reserve covers 365 hectares, reached on foot from Theodore and Conder. The Murrumbidgee River Corridor adds 9,800 hectares along the river, including Kambah Pool and Pine Island.
Termite inspection in Tuggeranong
The ACT Government says about 30 kinds of termite live in the region, but only a few cause extensive damage to sound timber. Two do most of it here: Coptotermes frenchi and Nasutitermes exitiosus. A third, Coptotermes acinaciformis, can do severe damage but isn't common.
Others are worth knowing too. Heterotermes ferox turns up in weathered paling fences, and Porotermes adamsoni nests in living eucalypts and damp wood. So a termite in the fence isn't automatically a threat to the house, which is exactly what an inspector can tell you.
If you find them, leave them. Several treatment options depend on finding termites active. Our Canberra termite page has more.
A walk around the block
- Paling fences that have gone soft or weathered.
- Old stumps and eucalypts close to the house.
- Timber touching the soil, like sleepers and garden edging.
- Wasps going steadily in and out of one hole in the lawn.
- Ant trails near paths, rockeries and pot plants, mostly from October to March.
Selling or buying here
If a home has been lived in, an ACT seller must make a pest inspection report available, from an inspection no earlier than 3 months before it was first advertised. Class A units are the exception. Buyers can still get their own view: our pre-purchase page explains what's covered.
Questions for a termite inspector
- Which termite is it, and is it a risk to the house?
- What will you need to see in the roof and subfloor?
- Does your report say what you couldn't reach?
If it were our house in Tuggeranong
We'd check the fence line and any old stumps this weekend, and book an inspection if the house hasn't had one in years. Don't touch anything you find. 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.
