What's different in Surfers Paradise
Towers to river houses
The city's 2003 planning scheme described housing here running from single houses along the Nerang River to high rise and resort towers near the core. Budds Beach, The Peninsula and the southern end of Paradise Island were mostly 2 to 3 storey homes.
Who looks after what
The Queensland Government says a body corporate is generally responsible for pest work on common property, and a lot owner for pest work needed within their lot. A body corporate can also arrange treatments on owners' behalf.
Holiday lets and bed bugs
That same plan calls Surfers Paradise both a tourist resort and a permanent home for residents. Bed bugs are most often found where occupants change often, such as hotels, hostels and apartment complexes, and they travel in luggage.
Food premises
The core mixes restaurants and take away shops with apartments. City of Gold Coast takes rodent and hygiene reports for businesses through the Vermin or Food business part of its Report a problem form.
Questions to settle before you book in a tower
- Is the problem inside my lot, or in common property such as a riser, garbage room or basement?
- Does the body corporate already have a pest contract, and what does it cover?
- Do neighbouring lots need treating at the same time?
- Does building management need notice for access, or a booking for the lift?
- If I'm renting, have I told the property manager in writing?
Cockroaches in apartments
Most German cockroach infestations are in kitchens, under sinks, and in and under cupboards and drawers. They usually arrive as stowaways in cardboard boxes or crates of food and drink, and warm spots near appliances suit them. Seeing them active by day often points to a large infestation.
A treatment in one apartment can be undone by the one next door, which is why it's worth raising with the body corporate if neighbours are seeing them too. Read more on cockroach control on the Gold Coast.
Bed bugs
Look for spots of blood on sheets, brown spotting on the mattress, or bites you can't explain. Keep guests' luggage off the bed and carpet until you've checked. Bed bugs can survive for months without feeding, so a quick wash won't clear a room. If it's a holiday let, stop bookings on that room until it's been inspected.
River houses and termites
Houses along the Nerang River need termite inspections like any other Queensland home, and the QBCC advises one every year. Mud leads and damaged timber stay untouched until a technician has seen them.
A building and pest inspection on an apartment should cover the lot itself, and you should ask the body corporate for the scheme's pest records.
If it were our apartment in Surfers Paradise
We'd check the body corporate's position first, then take photos and note which rooms are affected. If it's inside your lot, 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.
