The Sydney pest calendar

Sydney's heat and humidity push cockroach and mosquito numbers to their yearly peak, and warm nights bring spiders indoors.

• Empty pot plant saucers, buckets and blocked gutters weekly — mosquitoes breed in a capful of water.
• Keep bins sealed and hosed out; summer roaches feed on residue around the bin bay.
• Treat before Christmas if you're hosting — a barrier spray needs a few days to knock numbers down.

Cooling weather sends spiders looking for shelter and starts the first rodent movement into roof voids.

• Clear webs from eaves and window frames before a treatment so the residual sticks to clean surfaces.
• Trim branches touching the roofline — it's the main rat highway into Sydney ceilings.
• Autumn is the best value time for a full external barrier: it carries you through winter.

Rats and mice move indoors for warmth and food. Most ceiling-noise callouts we take all year land in these three months.

• Scratching above the ceiling at night is almost always roof rats — act early, a pair breeds fast.
• Seal weep holes, eave gaps and garage door edges; baiting alone won't stop new arrivals.
• Check the roof for pigeon roosting before nesting season starts in spring.

Everything wakes up at once: ant colonies expand, wasps build, and funnel-web males start wandering after rain.

• Book the annual treatment in early spring — it stops colonies before they establish for summer.
• Never knock down a wasp nest yourself; European wasps sting repeatedly.
• After heavy spring rain, keep shoes off the ground and check the pool skimmer for funnel-webs.