Sydney Pest Control Advice and Guides
I am Liam Milligan, a licensed pest control and timber pest technician with 25 years of hands-on experience in the industry. This site is a set of practical pest control guides for Sydney homes, drawn from those years inspecting and treating residential, commercial, and strata properties across the city, from terrace houses with shared walls to acreage on the urban fringe.
A lot of the pest advice online is written for other countries or other states, by people who have never treated a property. Plenty of it does not apply here. The rules on possums, rentals, and termite treatments are different in NSW, and following the wrong advice can cost you money.
Every guide is written from first-hand experience, and checked against current NSW rules, with links to the official sources so you can verify anything yourself. Each one sets out what the problem is, what you can safely handle yourself, and when it is worth bringing in a licensed professional.
Pest Control Guides
Start with the guide that matches your problem.
New guides are added regularly.
You can browse every guide on the blog.
Possum or Rat in the Roof? How to Tell the Difference
Heavy thumps at dusk or scratching and scurrying through the night? Learn how to tell a possum from rats in your roof before taking the wrong action.
Seeing Cockroaches After a Pest Treatment: Is That Normal?
Still seeing cockroaches after treatment? Learn what’s normal, why activity can temporarily increase, how long treatment takes to work, and when to be concerned.
DIY Pest Control vs Professional: What’s Worth Doing
DIY pest control isn’t just about sprays. Learn what you can do yourself to prevent pests, where DIY treatment fails, and when to call a professional.
Who Pays for Pest Control in a NSW Rental?
Landlord or tenant? The rules in NSW turn on two questions. A plain-English guide to who pays for pest control in a Sydney rental.
Chemical vs Physical Termite Barriers: Which Do You Need?
Most homeowners think they are choosing between the two. Usually the slab decided it. What each barrier does, and what neither of them does.
Termites in the Garden: Are They Heading for the House?
Found termites in a stump, fence, or mulch? Do not rip it out yet. What it actually means, how far termites forage, and the order to do things in.
I Found Termites. Should I Spray Them?
Spraying termites may kill the workers you can see but disturb the colony and push activity elsewhere. Learn why this makes treatment harder and what to do instead.
What Attracts Silverfish to Your Home?
Silverfish are often a sign of excess moisture. Learn what attracts silverfish, where they hide, how to get rid of them and how to prevent them returning.
How These Guides Are Written
- Written from first-hand field experience, not rewritten from other websites.
- Checked against current NSW rules on possums, tenancy, and termite management, with the official source linked so you can verify it yourself.
- Nothing is for sale here. There are no sponsored products and no bookings taken through this site. Where a guide recommends professional help, it is because the do-it-yourself route is unsafe, illegal, or unlikely to work.
- Updated when the rules or the treatments change.
About the Author
- I hold a NSW EPA Pest Management Licence, a Cert III in Pest Management, a timber pest and termite qualification, and a Cert IV in Training and Assessment. My work over 25 years has covered general pest management, termite inspections and treatments, and rodent control programs, across residential, commercial, and strata properties.
- Most of the guides on this site answer questions people have asked me in person, usually while I was standing in their kitchen.
- This site exists to give Sydney households reliable answers. If a guide leaves your question unanswered, it needs improving, and the next update will usually cover it.
