Pest and Rodent Control

Rats

Residents are entitled to 4 lots of free rat bait per year which is available from the City’s Administration Centre.  Information pamphlets and advice from Environmental Health Officers is also available on request. For information regarding rats, please refer to the Rodent information Sheet.  

Bees

If bees or a bee hive is found on private property, please contact a registered pest control operator or Bee Swarm collector (numbers are available in the Yellow Pages, see Pest Control and/or Beekeepers). If bees are present on City land including the road verge and are causing a hazard please contact the City and an Environmental Health Officer will investigate and take the necessary action to remove the bees and the hive.

Wasps

Paper Wasps
Most wasps are Paper Wasps. Paper wasps are larger than a bee with a bright yellow and black (or yellow, orange and black) long, thin body. Paper wasps fly with their back legs hanging down and often hover.

Nests can be easily removed by spraying them thoroughly after dark with household insect spray. Then after a few minutes, scrape the nest into a plastic bag, tie it up and put in to the rubbish bin. Nests left unremoved will produce more queens to start nests the following spring.

European Wasps
European wasps are rare. They are black and yellow with thick black antennae and hold their legs close to body during flight and they fly very quickly and tend not to hover. If nests are found, contact the Department of Argiculture and Food on 9368 3333.  Do not attempt to treat the nest yourself.

Other Household Pests

To identify household pests and to find out how to control them, please refer to the Department of Agriculture and Food website.