What's different in Kwinana
The Spectacles
This is 360 hectares of natural bushland and wetland, part of Beeliar Regional Park and managed by DBCA. The City monitors adult mosquitoes there fortnightly from September to April and monthly from May to August, and uses aerial larvicide treatments when larval numbers are large.
More than one suburb
Kwinana Town Centre and Kwinana Beach share postcode 6167, but the City runs from 25 km to 37 km south of the CBD. Its mosquito traps also sit in Wandi, Bertram, Orelia, Wellard, Anketell and Casuarina.
How far each one travels
The City's plan says the container mosquito, active year round, travels only about 0.4km from where it breeds. So if it's biting you at home, it probably bred close by, in a gutter, pot plant base or tank. Culex annulirostris, active from November to March, can travel 10km from heavily vegetated sites.
The health side, with dates
The plan says Ross River virus was detected in mosquitoes at The Spectacles in 2021 and 2024, with a long-term mean of nine cases a year in Kwinana between 2013 and 2024. A virus in a trap isn't a human case. This is a matter for the health department, and no pest business can prevent it.
What the City asks of you
The City says it's crucial that residents also take measures on their own properties, including emptying pot plant drip trays at least once a week. Its plan says urban expansion has mostly been close to wetlands, and that residents nearer them are at increased risk, so screens and repellent are worth the trouble in those streets.
Rats work better as a street
The City says neighbours working together helps control rats. Remove garden waste, pick up fallen fruit, store pet food in sealed containers and cover compost bins. Block entry points, but not ventilation holes. A pest business can work out where they're coming from if that doesn't settle it.
Termites
The City says that if you find termites, it's important to contact a registered pest control operator for an inspection, and notes that new buildings must have termite protection. Don't disturb them in the meantime. WA's Building and Energy recommends an inspection at least once a year, and WA Health says this work needs the Termites and Timber pests endorsement.
European wasps arrive on freight
The City says queens reach WA each year from eastern Australia through freight, cargo and vehicles, and that the wasps must be reported to DPIRD. You can also use the MyPestGuide Reporter app. Keep away from the nest, and don't treat it.
A quick mosquito round
- Empty pot plant drip trays and bird baths.
- Clear gutters so they drain fully.
- Check the rainwater tank is screened.
- Tip out anything that has collected water.
Our take on Kwinana
Do the mosquito round every week through the warmer months, because your own yard is the part nobody else can reach. If you've got rats, talk to the neighbours first. Anything else you've spotted, tap it along 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.
