Life beside the wetlands
Cheetham Wetlands
Parks Victoria describes the wetlands in Point Cook Coastal Park as salt marshes and natural and artificial lagoons of Skeleton Creek, with the park looking out over Port Phillip Bay.
The coastal mosquito
Victoria's Department of Health says a salt water loving mosquito along the coast can spread Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses, the state's most common mosquito-borne viruses, and that coastal seasons usually start earlier and end later than inland.
Snakes since September 2025
Wyndham no longer removes snakes from private properties. DEECA can give you a list of licensed snake controllers, and Wyndham asks that you call one only when the snake has been sighted and is being watched.
Cutting mosquito numbers at home
Tip out water every week
Pot plant bases, buckets, toys, bird baths and pet bowls. Eggs need standing water for about a week, NSW Health says, so a weekly tip breaks the cycle.
Clear gutters and check the tank
Blocked gutters and unscreened rainwater tanks are classic breeding spots.
Screen the house
Fly screens on windows, doors and vents keep mosquitoes outside.
Cover up at dusk
Wear loose, light coloured long sleeves and use a repellent containing DEET or picaridin.
Then think about the yard
A pest business can treat shrubs where mosquitoes rest. It's an extra, not a replacement for the steps above, and it won't protect anyone from disease.
The rest of the list
The other usual suspects apply here too: mice when it cools down, wasp nests growing through summer, and redbacks under outdoor furniture. One redback on its own often isn't worth paying anyone for. Keep kids' play areas clear and look again in a week.
If we lived near the wetlands
We'd do the weekly water check from spring and get the screens fixed before summer. A yard treatment can come after that. Seen something else? Send it to us 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.
