What's particular to Bondi
Sand under the suburb
Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub grew on wind-blown, nutrient-poor sand across these suburbs, and over 90% has been cleared. The Australian Museum singles out the dry, sandy east as an exception to the rule that dearer areas have more funnel-webs.
Rat or baby ringtail?
The Australian Museum says many people who think they saw a baby ringtail in the backyard have seen a black rat, and the long tail is the giveaway. A baby ringtail would still be in the pouch or on its mother's back, and wouldn't be fully furred.
The cockroach that follows the plumbing
The German cockroach is the hardest pest cockroach to shift and the most troublesome in Sydney, the museum says. In a block it lives in kitchens and moves along pipes and service ducts, so one treated flat may not be enough.
If you're in a strata block
For common areas, residents get notice first. The strata manager, or whoever else arranges the work, has to give a pesticide use notice at least 5 working days ahead. Emergencies involving rodents, wasps, bees, venomous spiders or fleas can go sooner if a notice is displayed and records are kept.
For a problem inside your own flat, tell the strata manager anyway. Cockroaches and rats ignore lot boundaries, and a whole-of-building plan usually does better than each owner acting alone.
If you're renting
Generally, a NSW landlord is responsible for pests at the start of a tenancy, and a tenant for those that arise later from their own activities. If the pests got in another way, such as through a hole in the wall, you may not be responsible. Disputes can go to NSW Fair Trading.
End of lease fumigation is a condition only if your landlord agreed to an indoor mammal pet and set that condition. Read your agreement, and see end of lease pest control in Sydney.
Before the technician arrives
- Clear benches and cover kitchen utensils, or put them away.
- Cover or move bird cages and fish tanks, and take other pets elsewhere.
- Ask for the full product name, and any safety data sheet you want.
- Plan to stay out until the area has dried and been well ventilated.
Our take on pests in Bondi
In a flat, start with the building, not your own kitchen: ask the strata manager whether others are seeing the same thing. If they are, that's a better job to send us. If it's only you, tell us the pest and the postcode and we'll go 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.
