My suburb isn't a declared termite area. Does that mean there are no termites?

No. Declared and designated areas are building rules set by each council for new work. Stonnington isn't declared and still says termites may damage structures there, so treat a missing declaration as silence, not a clean bill of health. See our Melbourne termite page.

Is a European wasp nest in the backyard urgent?

It can be, especially near a door, a path or a play area. Keep people and pets away and don't disturb the hole they use. Call 000 if a person who's been stung starts struggling for breath or their face or throat swells.

Do you cover the whole of Melbourne?

Give us your postcode with what you've seen, from the west to the Yarra Valley and the peninsula, and we look for a pest business near you that does that job.

Pest control Melbourne: termites, wasps and possums

What's different in Melbourne

Termite rules are set council by council

Under Victoria's Building Regulations 2018, some councils declare or designate areas where new building work needs termite protection. All of Glen Eira is declared, the Mornington Peninsula Shire and Yarra Ranges are designated in full, and Hobsons Bay names Williamstown, Newport and Spotswood, some only in part. These are building rules for new work. They're not a map of where termites live, and the City of Stonnington, which isn't declared, still warns that termites can damage buildings there.

Wasp nests are usually out of sight

Roughly four in five European wasp nests are in the ground, according to Victoria's Department of Health, and most of the others are inside buildings. In Melbourne, the sign to look for is a steady line of yellow and black wasps going into a hole in the lawn or a gap in a wall, not a nest hanging under the eaves.

Mosquito season, and Buruli ulcer

Victoria's Department of Health says mosquitoes breed from about November to April inland, and coastal areas usually start earlier and finish later. Better Health Channel lists parts of inner Melbourne, including Essendon, Moonee Ponds and Coburg, plus the Mornington Peninsula and the south eastern bayside suburbs, among places Buruli ulcer is being identified, and says its list may not be complete. That's a question for your GP and the health department; no pest treatment prevents it.

Possums are protected wildlife

Victoria's Wildlife Act 1975 protects possums, and nobody may harm or keep one without approval from DEECA, the state environment department. Trapping a ringtail without a permit is illegal. Our possum page for Melbourne sets out what the rules do allow.

The pests that turn up through a Melbourne year

Spring is when a European wasp queen starts a new nest, and by late summer and autumn those nests are at their biggest. Autumn is also when mice start looking for shelter, because CSIRO says cooler weather pushes them indoors, so scratching in the ceiling often begins around the time the heater goes on.

Bees swarm in the warmer months. Victoria's Department of Health tells pest controllers to send bee enquiries to a beekeeper or the Victorian Apiarists Association, so a swarm on a fence is usually a beekeeper's job, while a colony living inside a wall is one for a pest business. Our bees page for Melbourne explains the difference.

Spiders cause more worry than harm here. Better Health Channel says the Sydney funnel-web, the one linked to recorded deaths, isn't found in Victoria. Redbacks, black house spiders and white-tails are the usual finds, and the Melbourne spider page covers first aid and when a treatment is worth paying for.

Who does the work in Victoria

Victoria licenses the person, not the company. The Department of Health issues pest control licences to the individual technicians who run or work for a pest business, and under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act anyone in that business needs a licence covering the pesticide they use. Better Health Channel suggests checking that whoever applies it holds a current Victorian licence with the right authorisation for your job, plus enough insurance. Our Victoria page explains how the authorisations work.

Getting ready for a treatment

Plan to be out of the house: Better Health Channel says to stay away while pesticide is mixed and applied and until it's dry, generally four to six hours.
Move pets out until the treatment has dried, and cover the fish pond, the clothesline and any cooking gear left outside.
Ask for the full chemical name of the product, and mention pregnancy, young children or allergies in the house.
Renting? Tell your rental provider early: Consumer Affairs Victoria treats pests caused by the building that make a home unsafe as an urgent repair.

Our take on pests in Melbourne

If you're buying in Melbourne, we'd book a timber pest inspection whichever council the house sits in, because the declared areas are about new building work, not where termites are. For everything else, tap what you've found and your postcode, and start there.

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?