Stings and bites first
Keep people and pets away from any wasp nest, and don't disturb it. After a sting, call 000 for noisy breathing, a swollen tongue or throat, dizziness or collapse. Any big black spider bite is a medical emergency too: call 000 and keep the person still.
What the mountains change
Two kinds of funnel-web
The Australian Museum says funnel-web numbers pick up again in the Blue Mountains foothills. The Blue Mountains funnel-web is rare in Greater Sydney but common west and south of it, and there are some Sydney funnel-web records up here as well.
European wasps
The museum says European wasps are found in the Blue Mountains as well as metropolitan Sydney. About 80% of nests are in the ground, and most others are inside buildings, in roofs and wall cavities.
A nest can last
A queen starts a colony in spring and it grows through summer. In Australia's warmer climate a nest can keep going over several seasons and pass 100,000 wasps, so don't assume winter dealt with it.
The bush at the back fence
Blue Mountains National Park is World Heritage listed, and many towns run right along its edge. Houses near natural bushland may often have termite nests nearby, the Australian Museum says, though those may not be pest species.
Mice, firewood and cold nights
CSIRO said in May 2021 that cooler weather encourages mice to find shelter inside homes in NSW. Up here that's a familiar autumn job. Stack firewood off the ground and away from the house, close gaps around pipes, and keep pantry food sealed.
Woodpiles are also where spiders and sometimes termites turn up, so gloves and a look before you lift are sensible habits.
What you can do, and what's a pest business's job
You can
- Note where wasps are going in and out, from well back, and when.
- Keep food, sweet drinks and pet bowls covered outdoors.
- Wear gloves and closed shoes when you shift rocks, logs or leaf litter.
- Keep gutters clear and timber away from damp ground.
Leave to a pest business
- Treating a European wasp nest, wherever it is. Don't spray or block it yourself.
- Mice or rats that keep coming back after the tidy up.
- A termite inspection, especially on older timber homes.
If it were our house in the Blue Mountains
We'd walk the fence line in late spring looking for that steady stream of wasps at a hole in the ground, because it's much easier to deal with early. If you find one, stay back and tell us the postcode. A pest business can take it from there.
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.
