Can a pest treatment protect my family from Murray Valley encephalitis?

No pest treatment can promise that. The council says avoiding mosquito bites is the main protection, since there's no vaccine or effective treatment for it. Follow the Department of Health's advice on repellent and covering up.

Who do I call about a swarm on my fence?

A registered beekeeper is the first call in Victoria. A swarm is on its way to a new nest site, so keep people and pets back and call early. If the bees move into the house, that's a pest job.

Pest control Mildura: mosquitoes, bees and buying a home

What's different on the Murray at Mildura

A first in more than a decade

In January 2023, Mildura Rural City Council's routine mosquito monitoring found Murray Valley encephalitis virus in the municipality, the first detection in Victoria in more than a decade. A virus found in a mosquito trap tells health officers where risk is; it isn't a human case.

November to April is the window

Victoria's Department of Health puts Murray Valley encephalitis risk at its highest between November and April, especially after big floods, and says people outdoors in northern Victoria's riverine country towards the Murray carry more of it.

Two different viruses, two different answers

The council says there's no effective treatment or vaccine for Murray Valley encephalitis, so avoiding bites is the main protection. Japanese encephalitis is separate: when we checked in November 2026, Mildura was one of 24 Victorian council areas listed as high risk, where eligible people can get the vaccine. Ask your GP or the Department of Health.

Where a pest business fits with mosquitoes

A pest business can treat around a yard to cut down adult mosquitoes, and that can make an evening outside more pleasant. It can't stop a disease, and we'd be wary of anyone who says it can. Inland Victoria's mosquitoes breed from about November to April, the Department of Health says, so that's when tipping out standing water matters most: pot bases, tyres, buckets, birdbaths and gutters that hold water after rain.

Bees: a swarm or a colony?

A clump of bees hanging off a branch is a swarm looking for a home, and in Victoria the Department of Health tells pest businesses to send bee enquiries to a beekeeper or the Victorian Apiarists Association. Anyone keeping even one hive in Victoria has to register as a beekeeper, so ask for a registered one.

Bees flying steadily in and out of one gap in a wall, eave or roof have already set up a colony. That's when a pest business usually comes in, if a beekeeper can't get to it. Our bees page explains the difference in more detail.

Buying a house in Mildura

Consumer Affairs Victoria suggests a qualified building inspector, surveyor or architect before you sign, and a professional pest inspection for termites and other infestations as well. It also warns to be wary of reports offered by the agent or seller: your own report is the only way to know it's independent. Our pre-purchase inspections page covers what the timber pest half looks at.

Before anyone treats your place

What's the full chemical name of the product, so I can look it up?
How long should we stay out, and when is it dry? (Better Health Channel says four to six hours is generally recommended.)
Where should the dog and cat go until it's dry?
Should the fish pond, clothesline or veggie patch be covered?

What we'd do about pests in Mildura

We'd keep the mosquito side simple: empty the water, cover up at dusk in the warm months, and take the health advice from the health department. For bees in a wall, a termite worry or a house you're about to buy, 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.

What have you seen?