Bees, wasps and birds

Bees and wasps

We don’t remove bees or wasps from private property.

If you need someone to remove a nest from your property, visit the Yellow pages website and type ‘bees’ or ‘wasps’ and your postcode into their directory.

If you need someone to remove bees or wasps from a council property, call us on 9524 3333.

Swooping birds

At certain times of the year, you may notice signs in some of our parks and reserves advising that magpies, in particular, have a tendency to swoop. They do this while raising their young.

Your best option is to avoid swooping birds’ territory altogether, but this isn’t always possible. Here are some tips for protecting yourself against swooping birds:

• Move quickly, but don’t run
• Wear a hat or carry a stick or umbrella above your head
• If you’re a cyclist, walk your bike through the area while still wearing your helmet
• Draw a pair of eyes on the back of your hat or helmet
• Don’t feed, interfere with, or throw things at birds, as it may increase swooping
• Don’t destroy nest, as it may prompt them to rebuild and swoop for longer
• Try to travel in a group

For further information, visit the swooping birds page on the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning website.

Indian Myna birds

The Indian Myna was introduced to Australia in the 1860’s to control crop pests in market gardens. They quickly became a nuisance to farmers, eating fruit and picking off seeds.

The Indian Myna is not a declared pest animal under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994, but its adaptation to suburban life has seen its numbers increase substantially.

As they’re scavengers, Mynas thrive where there is easy access to food. Their diet typically consists of fruits, seeds, insects, vegetables, scraps, and most recently pet food.

You could find Mynas almost anywhere, including household roofs, walls, bridges and other man-made structures.

You can discourage Mynas by:

• removing excess food sources
• feeding pets indoors and not leaving pet food outside
• blocking any holes in your roof and gutters
• covering compost heaps and rubbish bins so food is not available
• reducing lawn areas, plant shrubs and ground cover plants to create a more dense garden
• planting local indigenous and native plants to encourage native bird species.

If you need advice or Myna Bird traps, visit the Yarra Indian Myna Action Group (YIMAG) website.