Can I get a pest business out for fire ants?

Not through us. In Queensland, suspected fire ants must be reported to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours, online or by phone, and our form doesn't take fire ant jobs. Report first and leave the mound alone.

Does Which Pest cover Tweed Heads?

You can send an enquiry from anywhere in Australia, Tweed Heads included. Just remember it's New South Wales, so NSW rules apply there, including the NSW fire ant line.

Will a pest treatment fix the mosquitoes?

It can help around the yard, but the bigger difference is removing water that sits for days. City of Gold Coast watches swamps and saltmarsh on public land; gutters, saucers and covers on your block are yours.

Pest control Gold Coast: termites, fire ants, mosquitoes

What's different on the Gold Coast

Termites that travel under cover

Business Queensland says the two subterranean termite groups that go after Queensland houses, Coptotermes and Schedorhinotermes, are found right across the state. They move above ground inside enclosed mud galleries, so what owners usually spot first is damaged timber or a thin mud lead, not a termite.

Fire ants are a report, not a booking

The Gold Coast has fire ant surveillance, eradication and suppression zones, and City of Gold Coast treats public land in the suppression zone but not private yards. Zones shift over time, so don't go by your suburb: if you see small coppery brown ants pouring from a loose mound, report them to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours, as Queensland law requires.

Mosquitoes after rain and king tides

On the Gold Coast, mosquitoes breed wherever water sits, from pot plant saucers to freshwater and saltwater swamps, and numbers jump after heavy rain and the monthly king tides. The council checks about 60 traps and inspects mapped breeding sites on public land at least fortnightly; the water lying around your yard is yours to tip out.

Yellow crazy ants at Arundel

Business Queensland has recorded yellow crazy ants on light industrial properties at Arundel. They're restricted in Queensland, so a slender yellowish ant with very long legs that runs about frantically is one to tell Biosecurity Queensland about.

Tweed Heads follows NSW rules

Cross into Tweed Heads and you're in New South Wales. Fire ants there go to NSW DPI, and the NSW EPA says it accepts some pest licences from other states, but not ones issued in Queensland.

The jobs Gold Coast homes ask about

Termite inspections and treatment lead the list, followed by the timber pest half of a building and pest inspection for people buying. After that come possums in the roof, rats and mice, cockroaches, ants and wasp nests. Each has its own Gold Coast page with what to ask and what the work usually involves.

Smaller jobs without their own page, like silverfish, fleas or spiders around the outdoor furniture, go through the same form. Pick the closest match, or Not sure what it is, and add a photo if you can.

Why the weather matters here

The Queensland Government describes South East Queensland as subtropical, with an average yearly temperature of 19°C and most of the rain in summer and autumn. Warm, wet months are when winged termites leave the nest on humid evenings, and when water lies about long enough for mosquitoes to breed.

When it cools off, CSIRO says mice look for shelter inside, so you're more likely to hear them in the ceiling after summer. Spring to early summer is bee swarm season in Queensland; a cluster resting on a branch is usually a call for a local beekeeping club, not a pest business.

Around a Gold Coast house

Keep garden beds, mulch and sprinkler spray off the slab edge and weep holes, so any termite lead stays visible.
Tip out saucers, buckets, kayaks and boat covers after rain, before mosquitoes use them.
Don't move soil, turf or mulch off a yard where you've seen suspect fire ants until you've reported them.
Find the termite notice in the meter box, if there is one, and note the system it names and its install date.
Keep bin lids shut and pick up fallen fruit, which feeds rats and possums alike.

If it were our Gold Coast house

We'd have a termite inspection done before anything shows up, report anything that looks like fire ants to Biosecurity Queensland rather than touching it, and keep the yard dry after king tides. For everything else, tap 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.

What have you seen?