What's different in Lalor
The co-op homes
The City of Whittlesea says the Peter Lalor Home Building Co-operative Society formed in February 1947 and house building ran until 1954, and parts of the Peter Lalor Estate are now heritage listed. The council calls Lalor an established residential area of about nine square kilometres. Homes from that period have had decades for gaps to open around pipes, eaves and vents.
Rats and mice in winter
Whittlesea says they enter homes looking for food and shelter, particularly in winter.
Wasp nests
The council says local laws require residents to ensure a wasp nest doesn't remain on their premises. It doesn't offer pest control services or remove pests from private property.
Nature strips and council land
Owners treat pests on their own property, and the council deals with nature strips, council buildings and council land. If a nest is on the strip out the front, ring them.
If you hear something in the ceiling this winter
Listen for a pattern
Scratching or light running at night points to rats or mice. Heavy thumps at dusk point to a possum, and those are protected, so the answer is different.
Check the obvious spots
Look for droppings in cupboards, around the hot water service and behind the fridge. Look for gnawed packaging too.
Take away the food
Put pet food and dry goods into sealed containers, and tidy the shed and the woodpile.
Close the gaps
Seal around pipes and under the eaves. If they keep coming, it's time for a pest business.
Indian mynas
Whittlesea says Indian mynas aren't a declared pest and there's no legal requirement to control them, though community groups run programs to reduce their impact. If they're nesting in your roof or eaves, that's a bird proofing job, and our Melbourne bird proofing page explains what's involved.
Is an older Lalor house a termite risk?
We can't tell you that from a suburb name, and no one should. What we can say is that a house this age deserves a timber pest inspection before you buy or renovate, and that any mud tubes or soft timber should stay undisturbed until an inspector has seen them. If your place is in the heritage listed part of the estate, check with the council before changing the building itself.
Where we'd start with pests in Lalor
Get the gaps sealed in autumn, before the cold sends mice indoors. If you see wasps coming and going from one hole in the yard, stay away from it and tap what you've seen 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.
