Why the coast matters here
Towra Point's saltmarsh
NPWS says Towra Point Nature Reserve, near Cronulla, is the largest and most diverse estuarine wetland complex in Sydney, holding most of the saltmarsh left in the region.
The tide mosquito
The saltmarsh mosquito made up 61.5% of the 70,250 mosquitoes NSW Health trapped around metropolitan Sydney in 2024 to 2025, and NSW Health notes tides over 1.8 metres could trigger hatching. Nobody can treat a saltmarsh from a backyard, so bites after a big tide come down to screens and repellent.
Rats by the sea
The Australian Museum says brown rats are common in coastal urban areas, and black rats have spread through much of coastal Australia. Black rats are the agile climbers, which is why the other name is roof rat.
A suburb that grew with the surf
Sutherland Shire Libraries says the area was first opened for sale in 1899, surf bathing brought visitors and then residents from the early 1900s, and the railway came in 1939. Tell the inspector how old your place is, because an old cottage and a new unit aren't the same job.
Units and holiday rentals
In a block, the job often isn't yours alone. German cockroaches live in and under kitchens, and treating one unit may not reach the neighbours.
Leases are their own topic. A NSW tenancy term requiring professional fumigation is banned, unless the landlord consented to a pet kept inside that's a mammal. Read our end of lease page for Sydney before paying for something you may not need.
Easy wins near the beach
- Keep bins lidded, and garage floors clear of anything a rat could nest in.
- Cut back vines and palm fronds that touch the roofline, since rats climb.
- Tip out pot bases, buckets and toys at least weekly: mosquito eggs need standing water for about a week.
- Check the screens on windows, doors and vents for holes.
If it were our place in Cronulla
We'd sort the bins and the standing water first, since both are in your hands. Scratching in the roof or droppings in a cupboard are worth a call: tap what you've found and add 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.
