What's different in Wanneroo
Stable flies
A City of Wanneroo sheet describes a fly slightly smaller than a house fly, with a checkerboard of dark spots on the abdomen and a prominent black proboscis. It bites people, dogs and livestock, turns up in large numbers from late spring to late autumn, and mostly feeds in the morning and late afternoon.
A declared pest
The City says stable fly is declared under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, with a management plan that bans untreated poultry manure on agricultural land. So a neighbouring source isn't just bad luck: there are rules behind it.
Midges
The City says wetlands such as Lake Joondalup usually have high nutrient levels, and adult midge turn up in higher numbers in the warmer months. They don't bite. Its tips are practical: less outside lighting around doorways, slow-release fertiliser, and washing the car on the lawn.
European wasps
Wanneroo is on DPIRD's list of areas with nests in the 2025 to 2026 season, and Wangara, the City's busy industrial suburb, is one of its hot spots. Report a suspect to DPIRD or through MyPestGuide Reporter, and keep away from the nest.
Shot-hole borer in trees
On 27 June 2025 the City reported its first case of polyphagous shot-hole borer, a wood-boring beetle that attacks trees. Report suspected sightings with the MyPestGuide app. It's a tree matter for DPIRD and the City, not a house pest.
If stable flies are biting at home
Find what's breeding
Look for piles of grass clippings, rotting hay, straw or sawdust, ageing manure and rotting vegetable matter.
Spread it thin or get rid of it
The sheet says removing breeding sites is by far the most effective step. Spreading manure and clippings in thin layers so they dry out helps.
Don't count on ordinary fly traps
Protein-based traps with a rotting smell won't catch stable flies, the City says.
Ask the City about a bigger source
If the flies clearly come from beyond your fence, raise it with the City's health team. They're a declared pest, and that's a question for the people running the plan.
Is it a pest business job?
Mostly not, for stable flies or midges, and we'd rather say so. Treating a house won't deal with rotting material on a block down the road.
A pest business earns its keep on the rest. The City's public health pages cover bed bugs, rats and Portuguese millipedes, and termite inspections apply here as they do across WA: at least once a year, says Building and Energy. If you find mud tubes or damaged timber, don't disturb them. WA's register of pest businesses isn't public, so ask for the registration number.
DPIRD's list dated 16 February 2022 also has European house borer zones named Neerabup and Gnangara. If you've got untreated pine in the roof, check the address on DPIRD's map.
Our take on the fly
Before you pay anyone, walk the yard and clear anything rotting. If the biting stops, you've saved yourself a call. For rats, ants, spiders or termites, tell us what you've seen 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.
