How to protect your home from Australia’s common pests

Pests can contaminate surfaces, spreading disease via the transmission of harmful pathogens Credit: aquaArts studio/Getty Images

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Cold weather does not mean a pest-free home. Some pests, like termites, remain active all-year round and winter is peak season for mice and rats preferring your house instead of outdoors. Bed bugs and cockroaches are also on the list of invaders to look out for. Infestations have wide-ranging consequences, including hygiene risks and even home devaluation. Learn how to prevent, identify, and deal with them.

Key Points

Rodents are the usual suspects of winter home invasions, but termites are mobile all year-round and can have a costly impact.
Keeping your house clean and tidy, eliminating favorable conditions and entry points for pests are simple, preventive steps for invasions.
Only use commercially available chemicals and hire pest control operators who are licensed.

Protecting your home against pests should not be overlooked during winter, even for insects like mosquitoes that are typically more active in warmer months.

Insect pests more of a nuisance

Cameron Webb is a Μedical entomologist and an Associate Professor with New South Wales Health Pathology and the University of Sydney.

“We've got about 300 different types of mosquitoes right across Australia,” Dr Webb says.

“Some of them will mostly disappear during the colder months of the year, but there's others that stay very active and it's usually mosquitoes in urban areas where they have access to water around our properties.”

Even during cooler months, mosquitoes can still be found inside the home, and yes, they do occasionally bite.

Keeping mosquitoes away involves simple measures, such as removing stagnant water from your backyard and installing screens on windows and rainwater tanks.

Cockroaches take advantage of the warm, humid conditions inside your home. Credit: RapidEye/Getty Images

“It’s important to remember where these insects are coming from.

“But they are probably far more likely to be a nuisance rather than a health risk. They will be biting, but the risk of transmitting some of the pathogens that can make us sick are greatly reduced,” Dr Webb says.

The same can't be said for cockroaches, which contaminate food and surfaces.

Cockroaches thrive when we've got accumulation of rubbish or there's waste material in the home that they can feed off.
Medical entomologist Cameron Webb

Minimising favourable conditions for pests can go a long way for preventing transmission of diseases through cockroaches or other pests, Dr Webb says.

“But sometimes insecticides are really important, and you should only use products that are available from your local hardware store or supermarket or engaging a professional pest controller to undertake those activities.”

David Gay has been in the pest control industry for the last 30 years.

He says bed bugs are among pests seen consistently throughout the year in residential and commercial accommodation settings.

“A fully mature bedbug is best described looking very similar to something like an apple seed… but their eggs and at early stages of their life they are very small.”

“If you have an insect pest, you don't have to reach for insecticides and chemicals immediately because particularly their use outdoors can have impacts on beneficial insects that may also be active during cooler months,” Dr Webb says. Credit: Philippe TURPIN/Getty Images/Photononstop RF

In most cases, they will be brought into your home unknowingly, from your travels, staycation, or a guest, potentially leading to an infestation, as they are not always easy to spot.

“They get into the very tight little cracks that might be in furniture, in the joints, the hinges and so forth, they tuck themselves deep into those gaps and cracks and are very difficult to detect," Mr Gay explains.

Rodents, the prominent winter invader

Australia’s diverse climate conditions are matched by the variety of pests encountered across its states and territories.

In the tropical northern regions, pest issues tend to be more prevalent year-round due to the warmer climate.

In contrast, rodents are one of the most common invaders in other parts of the country, where colder weather typically drives them indoors, increasing their activity in homes, Mr Gay says.

“In the southern states, Victoria, South Australia, or Western Australia and parts of New South Wales, winter mice tend to be a fairly uniform problem.”

“We see a really big growth of rodents around where people have chickens and do composting because there’s a lot of food that brings them to the area,” says AEPMA’s Rob Boschma. Source: Moment RF / Lea Scaddan/Getty Images

During the warmer months, mice tend to stay outside feeding on whatever they can find and living in areas under the house, in the garage, the roof, or dense foliage in the garden.

“But as the cooler weather comes on, they tend to push in and once they get into a home, it's warm and it's got the food, rarely are they going to leave by their own accord,” he explains.

Professional pest control

When you call a specialised technician to battle a pest infestation, it’s important to ensure that they are certified.

The

Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association (AEPMA)

is the peak industry for professional pest managers working in urban environments.

AEPMA Board member Rob Boschma says that when people notice an infestation of rats or mice in their house, there are usually more rodents around than they realise.

“When people call up about rodent concerns, they tend to see a rodent a couple of times and think it's the same one.

“Having inspected a lot of homes over many years, there's virtually not a single roof that you go into, either of a new or old building, that doesn't have some evidence of rodents.

Members of the Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association are licensed and insured to conduct pest control operations. Credit: Group4 Studio/Getty Images

“Most people have some rodents in their house. It's just the number and the level that makes the difference.”

Preventative measures, such as blocking holes and other entry points to the house and eliminating food sources for rodents, are the most crucial steps you can take to prevent an infestation or at least reduce their numbers.

Mr Boschma outlines the following common conditions in a property that attract mice and rats that people should be aware of.

Vines and bushes that abut houses, subfloor areas under the house where there's gaps and holes that let rodents come in quite easily. Other things include harborage and building refuse.
AEPMA Board member Rob Boschma

“And if you’re composting, have a concealed off the ground compost.”

Keep an eye out for termites

Mr Boschma says the pest control industry is seeing pests commonly encountered in shoulder seasons, including ants and spiders, pushing into the traditional winter season.

Regardless of season, termites are the prevalent pests keeping homeowners on their toes, throughout mainland Australia.

While not posing a health risk, their impact is costly.

They feed on elements found on wood, so if an infestation remains undetected, they can cause substantial harm to wooden structures in a residence.

“When termites get into buildings, they literally erode the value of that place. What makes it so challenging is that they are covert. So, termites will stay under the floors or in the wall cavities.

The precise starting point of a termite infestation cannot be known, but it is estimated that most people have it for at least five years before they become aware of it.

Termites can eat away wooden structures in and around your home. Credit: bruceman/Getty Images

“Then generally the door will fall off the hinges, or the foot goes through the floor, or the vacuum cleaner goes through the skirting board… and that's when they're alerted to the fact that termites have made it into the house.”

For renters, as opposed to infestations caused by their living conditions, termites are among pest issues that commonly fall under the landlord’s responsibility to fix.

Whatever the case, Mr Boschma advises to speak to your property manager when dealing with a pest invasion.

“It sort of depends on the situation. But either way, you should speak to the property manager and make sure that all parties have agreed to whatever is being commissioned.”