Snakes and ticks: safety first
If you find a snake, don't approach it. Back away slowly, keep children and pets away, and call a professional snake catcher. For a snake bite, call 000 and keep the person still. If you have a known tick allergy, don't disturb the tick and get urgent medical help. The Poisons Information Centre is on 13 11 26 at any hour.
Living beside the bush in St Ives
The Wildflower Garden
Ku-ring-gai Council says the garden, at 420 Mona Vale Road, is set across 123 hectares of bushland.
Garigal National Park
NSW National Parks lists Douglas Street and Hunter Avenue, St Ives, among the park's entry points, which shows how close the park sits to local streets. Ku-ring-gai as a whole adjoins it on the east.
More brush turkeys
The council says residents have reported more brush turkeys in the last few years. They're protected by state legislation, and once a male starts a mound in your yard it can be very difficult to discourage.
What's a pest job here, and what isn't?
Not a pest job: a brush turkey mound, a snake on the lawn or a bee swarm. The turkey is protected, the snake is a job for a licensed snake catcher, and the swarm usually goes to a beekeeper.
A pest job: rats in the roof, German cockroaches in the kitchen, a wasp nest near a door, and termites. Those are also the jobs a bush setting doesn't change much. A tidy St Ives house still gets them, so don't assume the bush is to blame.
Make the yard less inviting
- Keep shrubs trimmed and lawns mowed, as the council suggests.
- Clear rubble, spare timber, old roof sheeting and leaf litter where snakes can shelter.
- Wear long sleeves in tall grass and leaf litter, and check skin and hair when you come in.
- Leave access points under the house open until any snake has been professionally removed, then have them blocked.
- Keep firewood stacked off the ground, away from the walls.
Our take on pests in St Ives
Don't pay anyone to deal with the bush. Tidy the yard, learn who to call for a snake, and save the pest business for what's inside the house. For that, tell us what you've found and 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.
