Coomera's two edges
Wetlands and cane to the east
The city's 2003 planning scheme ran Coomera's eastern boundary along sensitive wetlands and sugar cane land, with parts of the area at or near sea level. Low, wet ground is what mosquitoes use, and the council says their numbers jump after heavy rain and monthly king tides.
Bush to the west
The same plan says the land gets steeper heading west, with large tracts of bushland kept west of the Pacific Motorway. Bush near the back fence brings possums to the roofline and ticks to the dog after a walk.
Wildlife moving through
Hotham Creek, the Coomera River and their major tributaries were nominated as regionally significant wildlife corridors. Colman Road Reserve in east Coomera is a spot to see koalas in the wild, so remember that plenty of what crosses your yard is protected, not a pest.
Fire ants
A loose mound that pours out small coppery ants goes to Biosecurity Queensland, within 24 hours, which is the law here. It doesn't go to a pest business, and our form won't take it.
Find the termite notice in your meter box
That 2003 plan described Coomera as land with little existing development, so many homes here are likely to carry a termite management system (a chemical or physical layer that stops termites getting into the house unseen). The National Construction Code requires a durable notice, usually in the meter box, with the system used, its install date and how often it should be inspected.
Read it this week. The QBCC, Queensland's building regulator, advises an inspection and report every year, or more often where termites are more active. A notice isn't protection in itself: a system needs its inspections to do its job.
If you do find a mud lead or timber that sounds hollow, don't break it open. Several control options rely on finding termites still active.
Worth asking before a Coomera termite job
- Which system does my meter box notice name, and when's its next inspection due?
- Who's doing the work, and which QBCC and pest management licences do they hold?
- What's the full name of any product you'd use?
- Which parts of the house couldn't you reach, and will the written report say so?
- What does any warranty cover, in writing?
Possums and buying
City of Gold Coast doesn't deal with possums on private property and points residents to private contractors. In Queensland a possum can only be caught by a licensed commercial operator and must go back within 25 metres, so closing the gap it used is what solves it. Our Gold Coast possum page has the detail.
For a building and pest inspection in Coomera, note that they're two jobs. The building report needs a licensed residential building inspector, and the termite inspection needs a pest licence. One person can do both only if they hold both.
What we'd do on a Coomera block
We'd read the meter box notice this weekend, put the yearly inspection in the diary, and keep mulch back from the slab. Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and we'll pass it to a local pest business.
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.
