What's different up on the range
Plateau country
Maleny is on the Maleny Plateau, part of the Blackall Range in the south west of the Sunshine Coast. The planning scheme says the area has largely been cleared for town and farm use, with pockets of remnant vegetation left, mostly along Obi Obi Creek.
Obi Obi Creek
The creek runs through the area on its way to Lake Baroon and is subject to periodic flooding. If you're on low ground near it, walk under the house and around the sheds after high water.
Rainforest next door
Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve is a 55 hectare subtropical rainforest in Maleny. It warns visitors about venomous snakes, ticks, mosquitoes, spiders and mites, and leeches in wet weather, which is a fair guide to what lives in the wetter gullies around town.
Town and rural blocks
Town housing is mostly low density, with two large rural residential areas to the south and north east. A rural block means more to check: the house, the shed, the tank stand and the woodpile.
Ticks are the one to know about
NSW Health says ticks are common in bushland and long grass, particularly along the east coast, and advises avoiding those areas, especially after rain. The paralysis tick is found along the eastern coast, and NSW Health Pathology says you're most likely to meet the adult from September to December.
A pest controller usually isn't the first answer here. Keep grass short and check people and pets after time in the bush. For an attached tick, NSW Health advises freezing it with an ether based spray from a pharmacy, and not squeezing it or pulling it out. If you have a known tick allergy, don't disturb it, and get urgent medical help.
Possums, sheds and tanks
Possums are protected in Queensland, and only someone licensed for it can catch one, with release within 25 metres of where it was caught. Fixing the gap it used is what lasts. Our possum page explains proofing, and rat and mouse control covers the shed and ceiling.
Sunshine Coast Council suggests screening rainwater tank inlets and outlets with mesh of 1 mm or less.
Maleny's character buildings, and timber sheds generally, deserve a termite inspection too. The QBCC's advice is once a year, and there's more on termites on the Sunshine Coast.
What to ask before you say yes
- Will you check the shed, tank stand and other outbuildings as well as the house?
- Which product will you use, and what's its full name?
- What precautions should I take for pets, stock, bees and tank water?
- What will the written report or treatment record cover?
- If it's termite work, which QBCC licence class do you hold?
Bringing in hay or soil?
Sunshine Coast Council asks people to limit moving soil, hay, quarry and landscaping products on or off their property, because that's how fire ants travel. If you find suspect ants or nests, report them to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours. Queensland law requires it, and it comes before anything else you do with that load.
If it were our place in Maleny
We'd walk the whole block once a year, sheds and woodpile included, and book a termite inspection that covers them too. We'd keep the grass down near the back door for the ticks. For anything that stays a mystery, a clear photo from a safe distance is a good start.
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.
