Snake near the creek?
Stay well back, keep pets inside and don't try to catch it or corner it. Ring a licensed snake catcher rather than a pest business. For any snake bite, call 000, apply a pressure bandage and keep the person still.
Why Mordialloc is its own case
A city wide termite designation
On 22 October 2018 Kingston City Council resolved to designate the whole city a termite prone area. That's a building rule for new work, not proof of termites in your street. Renovators should still raise it with their building surveyor early.
Wildlife behind the back fence
Kingston says Mordialloc Creek Reserve, approximately 4 ha, provides habitat for many birds, possums, snakes, frogs, skinks and small mammals. Bradshaw Bushland Reserve in Mordialloc holds about 1.7 hectares of rare vegetation, with possums there too.
Wasps aren't allowed to stay
Kingston's local laws page says wasps must not be kept or allowed to stay on a premises, and its pest page says a nest on your property is your responsibility to have removed by a professional pest control company.
Why rats turn up in a Mordialloc yard
Kingston's list is blunt: poorly kept chicken pens, aviaries, compost piles, defective bins and fallen fruit. Rodents typically won't settle without a food source, so a tidy backyard does more than most people expect.
If the rats seem to be coming from next door, the council suggests talking with your neighbour first, and its Environmental Health team can be contacted after that. Roof rats are agile climbers, so a noise in the ceiling doesn't always mean mice. Our rats and mice page helps you tell them apart.
What's yours to do, and what isn't
You can
- Pick up fallen fruit and clean up under the aviary or chook pen.
- Fix or replace any bin with a split lid.
- Keep the slab edge clear of mulch so you can see any mud tubes.
- Note where and when you see wasps, from a distance.
Leave to a pest business
- Treating a wasp nest in the ground or a wall.
- Inspecting a subfloor (the space under a raised floor) for termites.
- Placing bait stations (locked boxes that hold rodent bait) around the house.
- Proofing a roof against possums.
Our take, this close to the creek
Keep the yard boring: no fallen fruit, no open compost, no gaps under the shed. If you're renovating, ask about termite protection before the slab goes down. For anything else, tap the pest 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.
