Can a pest business get rid of biting midges?

We don't know of a lasting fix a pest business can offer for midges. Fraser Coast Regional Council's program covers public land, and at home it's screens, repellent and long sleeves that protect people.

What licence does a Queensland pest business need?

Queensland Health issues pest management licences with endorsements for urban pest control, timber pest control and fumigation. Chemical termite treatment of new building work needs a QBCC termite management licence class as well. Our Queensland page has the detail.

Do you cover Maryborough and the Fraser Coast?

Yes. Tell us your postcode and what you've seen, anywhere on the Fraser Coast.

Pest control Hervey Bay: termites, midges and ants

What's different on the Fraser Coast

Termites that travel in mud

Business Queensland says Coptotermes and Schedorhinotermes termites occur throughout the state, moving above ground inside enclosed mud galleries to get into houses. CSIRO puts termite risk highest in the subtropics and tropics, so a coastal Queensland house deserves regular checks.

Midge season is long

Fraser Coast Regional Council says biting midges are most active in the warmer months, from September to April, which covers most of the outdoor season.

Mosquitoes are partly your job

The council runs weekly mosquito trapping and treats public watercourses, reserves and commercial areas. It also says owners and residents have a duty under public health legislation to help prevent mosquitoes breeding on their own premises.

Yellow crazy ants have been found here

Business Queensland has recorded yellow crazy ants at an industrial estate in Hervey Bay and on light industrial properties in Maryborough. They're restricted matter under Queensland's biosecurity law, so a suspected find goes to Biosecurity Queensland, not to a pest business.

Why yellow crazy ants matter

Yellow crazy ants can spray formic acid when disturbed, which may burn and irritate the skin and eyes of animals and potentially people. If you think you've found them, photograph them from a distance, keep pets back and make the report. Don't try to treat them yourself first.

Termites and buying a home

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission advises having your property inspected for termites, with a report, every year, or more often where termites are more active. For buyers, it says a pre-purchase building inspection and a termite inspection need different licences, though one person holding both can do them on the same visit.

Ask to see the licence; a QBCC termite licence can be checked on the QBCC register, which is published as open data and refreshed daily. Our termite inspections page explains what the inspector looks at.

Empty pot plant bases, buckets, toys and anything else holding water, at least weekly.
Keep gutters clear so they drain.
Screen rainwater tanks and fix torn fly screens.
Cover up with loose, light long sleeves and use repellent when they're biting.

What we'd do about pests in Hervey Bay

Book a termite inspection if your house hasn't had one in the last year, and keep the yard free of standing water through the warmer months. Anything that looks like an unusual ant gets reported first. For the rest, 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?

Pest control in Hervey Bay

Pest control in Hervey Bay: what to know before anyone calls