What's different in Mona Vale
Ticks in coastal gardens
Northern Beaches Council says ticks are common across the Northern Beaches, particularly in bushland, parks and gardens, and generally most active between October and January. They thrive in damp, humid vegetation close to the ground, and Mona Vale has coastal heath at the Mona Vale Basin Bushland Reserve.
Mynas around the shops
The council says mynas are a pest in urban areas, especially near shops and cafes. Keeping bin lids closed and feeding pets indoors takes away the easy food.
Wetlands next door
Warriewood Wetlands is the largest remaining sand plain wetland in northern Sydney, the council says, and one of its high-risk mosquito trapping sites. NSW Health's report lists viruses in mosquitoes trapped at Warriewood in March and April 2025. That's a surveillance result, not a human case.
Myna or noisy miner?
| Common myna | Noisy miner | |
|---|---|---|
| Looks | Chocolate brown, black head and neck, yellow bill and legs | Grey honeyeater |
| Status | Introduced | Protected native bird |
| Why it matters | Favours walls and ceilings for nests, and competes with native wildlife for hollows | It belongs here, so it isn't a pest job |
| What to do | Ask a local pest control company about your property | Leave it alone |
Who looks after bees and wasps here?
The council says bees or wasps on private land, and nuisance swarms, are regulated by the Department of Primary Industries. It looks into hives on public trees when there's a risk to public health and safety. Keep people and pets away from any nest, and if someone has trouble breathing after a sting, call 000.
What can you do, and what needs a pest business?
You can
- Mow regularly, and use gravel mulch rather than wood chip or straw.
- Check skin and hair after gardening between October and January.
- Keep bin lids shut and don't feed birds in the garden.
- Before anyone blocks an eave or roof hole, check possums or bats aren't using it, or they'll be trapped inside.
Leave to a pest business
- A tick problem in the yard that keeps coming back.
- Controlling mynas on your property, and proofing the roofline.
- Treating a wasp nest.
- Anything you can hear moving in the roof.
If this were our place
Start with the garden: shorter grass, gravel instead of wood chip, and a look around the eaves. If mynas are nesting in the roof or ticks keep turning up, pick it on this page, add your postcode, and 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.
