What the bushland brings
Bush at the end of the street
Lane Cove Council looks after approximately 90 hectares of bushland, generally along the creeks and river foreshores, and all its reserves are Wildlife Protection Areas. Around 200 animal species have been seen in its bushland and gardens, and council says brush-turkeys, rainbow lorikeets and possums have adapted very well to suburbia.
Brush-turkeys
A flyer on Ku-ring-gai Council's site says brush-turkeys have re-established around Lane Cove. Males start building mounds about mid August and finish about mid February, up to 4 to 6 m wide and 1 to 1.5 m high. They're protected by NSW law, so harming them, trapping them without a permit or damaging eggs is illegal. No pest business can take this one on.
Mynas in the hollows
Council says Indian mynas take over tree hollows and plug up nest sites they aren't using, forcing possums and birds out. Possums pushed out of hollows have to go somewhere, which is one more reason to keep roof gaps closed.
Funnel-web range
The Australian Museum's main range for the Sydney funnel-web takes in Lane Cove. Males wander over summer and autumn, and any big black spider bite is an emergency: call 000.
Living with a mound-builder
The flyer's tips start with food: reduce what's on offer, cover compost heaps and keep spare mulch under tarpaulins. Around new plants, rocks or large gravel make the ground hard to rake.
Once a mound is established, it's very hard to convince the male to move on. Plenty of people end up keeping it, and using the compost after the breeding season.
Building and pest inspections in Lane Cove
These are two reports. A pest inspection looks for termites and other timber pests, and NSW Government advice says a building report won't show them, so you want both. We can pass on the timber pest side, and the building report needs a suitably qualified person.
Timing matters. There's no cooling-off period at auction, or if you exchange on auction day after it's passed in, so have the reports in hand first. The Australian Museum says houses near natural bushland may often have termite nests nearby, though these may not be pest species, and only an inspection tells you which. Start with our Sydney pre-purchase page.
What we'd do about pests in Lane Cove
Work out whether what you've got is wildlife or a pest. Turkeys and possums take patience and proofing. Termites, rats and wasps are a call. Tell us what you've seen, with 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.
