Do I need a building and pest inspection to buy in Grafton?

NSW Government advice is to get a pest inspection as well as a building report, because the building report won't show whether termites are still active. Our pre-purchase pest inspections page explains what the timber pest side covers.

Can a pest business get rid of the mynas?

Closing the gaps they nest in, once any nest is empty, is a proofing job a pest business can quote. Trapping in the Clarence Valley has been done through Landcare with council support. Our bird proofing page has more.

Pest control Grafton: rats, mice, mynas and inspections

What's different in the Clarence Valley

A long myna effort

By March 2021, Landcare volunteers working with Clarence Valley Council had taken more than 20,000 Indian mynas out of the valley since 2011, using non-lethal traps. That's a community program; the gaps on your own house are a proofing job.

Where mynas set up

Clarence Valley Council says mynas nest in tree hollows and also under roofs, in gutters and in sheds. A shed with a gap under the roof sheeting is a likely spot.

Northern Rivers mosquitoes

Northern NSW Local Health District recorded 69 Ross River virus and 27 Barmah Forest virus notifications in 2024 to 2025, and NSW Health reported well above average rain in north-east NSW from January to March 2025.

Watch what you bring in

The NSW Government says fire ants spread in soil, mulch, hay and turf. If a delivery comes with a strange flat or crumbly mound, report it to the NSW Biosecurity Helpline before you touch it.

Rats or mice: reading the signs

Rockhampton Regional Council lists the night-time signs: scratching, squeaking, clawing and gnawing. Rats also leave greasy rub marks where they run the same path along a wall or beam, and both rats and mice chew woodwork, electrical cables and food containers.

Size helps. Victoria's health department says rat holes are about 80 mm across, while mice gnaw holes up to 20 mm wide, and mice nibble the outside of grain and leave the core. The black rat is a very agile climber that lives in roofs, cavity walls and trees, the Australian Museum says, and it has spread through much of coastal Australia.

Cleaning up after rodents

NSW Health says leptospirosis bacteria may be in rat and mouse urine and can get in through cuts or grazes. When you clean up droppings or a nest, wear gloves, waterproof clothes and shoes, cover any cut with a waterproof dressing, and wash your hands with soap afterwards.

After a rodent bite, NSW Health advises cleaning the wound straight away with soap and water, then seeing a doctor.

What you can do, and what to hand over

You can

Store feed, grain and pet food in sealed metal or hard plastic bins.
Clear stacked timber, boxes and rubbish away from the house and shed walls.
Cut back branches that touch the roof.
Note where you hear noise, and at what time of night.

Leave to a pest business

Finding entry points and nests in the roof space or subfloor.
Rodent treatment, with bait stations (locked boxes that hold rodent bait) where they're used.
Proofing gaps once the animals are out, including bird gaps under roofing.

Start here

Take away the food first, then the shelter: sealed bins, a clear shed floor and branches off the roof. If the noise carries on after that, it's time for a pest business to find how they're getting in.

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?