Do funnel-webs really live in Wollongong?

There are Australian Museum records from Wollongong, though it sits outside the main range of the Central Coast to the Georges River. That's reason enough to know the first aid.

Do you cover Shellharbour, Kiama and Dapto?

Yes. Shellharbour, Kiama and Dapto each have a page, and the Illawarra page covers the wider region.

Pest control Wollongong: rats, termites and inspections

What we know about Wollongong, and what we don't

Official sources say less about Wollongong's pests than about Sydney's or Newcastle's. The Australian Museum has Sydney funnel-web records from here, outside the spider's main range, and most of the rest of this page is NSW coastal advice. We'd rather tell you that than dress up a local statistic that doesn't exist.

What's different on the Illawarra coast

Funnel-web records

The museum lists some Sydney funnel-web records from Wollongong. Treat a bite from any big black spider as a medical emergency: call 000 and ask for an ambulance.

Tides as well as rain

NSW Health says coastal mosquito breeding follows tidal flooding as well as rainfall, and that tides over 1.8 metres can trigger the saltmarsh mosquito to hatch.

Ticks below the escarpment

Blocks that run up to bushland get ticks: NSW Health says they're common in bush, long grass and humid places on the east coast. Check yourself and the kids after time in the scrub.

Fire ants go to the helpline

Anywhere in NSW, a suspected fire ant nest is reported to the NSW Biosecurity Helpline. Leave it untouched.

Building and pest: two reports, two professions

A building inspection and a timber pest inspection are separate jobs. NSW Government advice is to get the building report from a suitably qualified person, such as a licensed builder, a surveyor or an architect, and to get a pest inspection too, because a building report won't show whether termites are still around.

In NSW, a timber pest inspection that uses no pesticides doesn't need an EPA licence. So ask the inspector about their training and their professional indemnity insurance. The pre-purchase pest inspections page goes through the pest half in detail.

Rats or mice?

Look at the droppings. Rockhampton Regional Council describes rat droppings as black and torpedo shaped, 10 mm to 18 mm long, while mouse droppings are rod shaped and only 3 mm to 6 mm. Gnawed cables, greasy rub marks along a wall and night-time scratching are the other giveaways.

Knowing which you've got changes the job. Rats nest in roofs, wall cavities and burrows under buildings, so a pest business will look well beyond the pantry.

Before you say yes to a quote

Which product will you use, and what's its full name?
Can I have the safety data sheet for it?
Where will the bait stations go, and are they locked?
Is a follow-up visit part of the job?
What should we do with pets, bird cages and fish tanks on the day?

Where we'd start with pests in Wollongong

Buying? Get the timber pest inspection done before the cooling-off period runs out, or before auction day, when there's no cooling-off at all. Already living here? Work out rats or mice from the droppings, close the obvious gaps, then tap what you've found.

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.

What have you seen?