Why Toongabbie is a little different
Three councils
Blacktown City Council lists part of Toongabbie among its suburbs, Cumberland City Council has it in its Wentworthville Ward, and the City of Parramatta's ward list has Old Toongabbie and a share of Toongabbie. Your rates notice settles which is yours.
Meeting of the waters
Blacktown says Governor Phillip took the name from the Dharruk words for meeting of the waters, and the creek still shapes the place. The City of Parramatta's Pemulwuy Loop crosses Toongabbie Creek at Oakes Road in Old Toongabbie, and Settlers Walk is the western end of the greater creek walk.
Nuisance mosquitoes
The City of Parramatta says it investigates nuisance mosquito complaints from private properties, such as poorly maintained domestic pools and excessive waste.
A neighbour's green pool is breeding mosquitoes. Now what?
Rule out your own yard
NSW Health says mosquitoes breed in buckets, tyres, toys, bird baths, pet bowls, pot plant bases, blocked gutters and unscreened rainwater tanks. Clear those at least weekly.
Have a word over the fence
Plenty of neighbours don't know it's happening, and a chat is quicker than anything else on this list.
Find out which council is yours
On the Parramatta side the council says it takes these complaints. We couldn't find the same statement from Blacktown or Cumberland, so ask them directly.
Then decide about treatment
A pest business can treat your side of the fence, but it can't fix someone else's pool. Ask what results to expect before you say yes.
What about the roof?
Cumberland City Council says losing their habitat has pushed many possums into the roofs and walls of houses. Common mynas like the same spots, and the City of Parramatta says repairing eaves and gaps in your roof reduces the space they can use.
Order matters. NSW advice is to block a possum's way in only once you're sure it has left to forage, usually at night. Close the roof with an animal still inside and you've made a much worse problem.
Our take on pests in Toongabbie
Check your own water and your own roofline before you ring anyone. If something's living overhead, or the mosquitoes are still bad after you've cleared the yard, 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.
