Brighton on Port Phillip Bay
Not designated isn't the same as no termites
Bayside says new works aren't required to be protected against subterranean termites, and then adds that there's always a risk of attack, so protection should always be considered. Read that as a rule for builders, not a clean bill of health.
Seventeen kilometres of coast
Bayside's coastline runs 17 kilometres from Head St Brighton to Charman Rd Beaumaris, and the council area is primarily residential. Foxes seen in parks or along the foreshore can be reported to council.
Council doesn't do private jobs
Bayside says it doesn't provide pest control services for private property or sell products. A wasp nest on council land is its job. One in your yard needs a pest controller holding a licence, and council says not to tackle it yourself.
Swarms usually move on
Bayside says bee swarms often clear by themselves within 2 to 3 days. Don't try to move one. If it stays, or bees are going into a wall, start with a beekeeper.
Building and pest inspections in Brighton
If you're buying, the termite status doesn't replace a timber pest inspection. It tells you what new work had to do, and nothing about the house you're looking at, its additions or the garden around it. Consumer Affairs Victoria suggests a professional pest inspection, as well as a building inspection, which is a separate profession.
Get your own report, not one offered by the agent or seller. Ask which areas the inspector couldn't reach. Damaged timber and mud tubes are the signs that matter, and neither should be disturbed. Our Melbourne buyers page walks through it.
Possums in the roof
Possum removal is what most people type, but Victoria's rule is narrower than that. Possums are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975. A brushtail that's lawfully caught has to be released on the same property, no more than 50 metres away, after sunset that day, and ringtails can't be trapped without a permit. So the fix is proofing the roof and pruning the branches that reach it. Our possum page explains how a pest business does it.
Rats and neighbours
If rats are coming from next door, Bayside recommends speaking with your neighbour. It's a better first step than a letter, and rodents rarely respect a fence, so a shared fix tends to last longer. The rat and mouse page explains what a pest business will look at.
When it's worth calling someone
- Damaged timber or thin mud tubes on a wall, pier or stump.
- Noise in the roof most nights, with a stain or gap at the eaves.
- Wasps going in and out of a wall or a hole in the lawn.
- Bees still there after several days, or moving into a cavity.
Where we'd start with pests in Brighton
If you've never had the timber looked at, we'd start there, whatever the council's status says. If you can see it or hear it, tap it with 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.
