Melbourne Pest Library
Practical identification and control guides for the pests we see in Melbourne homes and businesses, written and reviewed by our licensed team.
Most Melbourne pest problems begin with a small sign — scratching in the roof, droppings in a drawer, or an insect you cannot place. Each guide here explains how to recognise the species, what draws it into a home or business, the risks it carries, and how our licensed technicians deal with it. They are written and reviewed by Muzi Tsolakis and the Protech team, who have managed these species across Melbourne since 2001.
Pest identification and control guides
Subterranean Termite
Melbourne's most destructive timber pest, the early signs to watch for, and how a licensed inspection and treatment works.
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German Cockroach
The small striped cockroach behind most Melbourne kitchen infestations, and how professional gel baiting clears it.
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American Cockroach
The large reddish-brown cockroach of Melbourne drains and subfloors, why it appears indoors, and how we clear it.
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Australian Cockroach
The yellow-margined outdoor cockroach that moves inside in cooler weather, and how professional treatment controls it.
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Oriental Cockroach
The dark, damp-loving cockroach of drains and subfloors, and how we treat both the moisture and the colony.
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Smokybrown Cockroach
The strong-flying mahogany cockroach that shelters in roof voids and gardens, and how a targeted treatment clears it.
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Roof Rat
The agile climber that nests in Melbourne roof voids, with the signs to watch for and how we clear it.
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House Mouse
How one mouse becomes an infestation, the places they shelter, and how we clear them.
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Ants
The trail-forming ants Melbourne kitchens attract, the stinging species to watch for, and how baiting clears a colony.
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Spiders
Redbacks, white-tails and huntsmen — which Melbourne spiders are dangerous, which are harmless, and how we treat them.
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Redback Spider
Australia's best-known venomous spider, where it hides around Melbourne homes, and the right first aid and treatment.
Read the guide → White-Tailed Spider
The truth about the necrotic-bite myth, what a white-tail bite actually does, and how we keep them out.
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Huntsman Spider
The large, fast, harmless spider Melburnians fear most, why it is beneficial, and how to manage it without over-treating.
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Daddy Long-Legs Spider
The most myth-laden spider in the house, what the science actually says, and whether it needs treating at all.
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Black House Spider
The messy web-builder in window frames and brick weep-holes, its painful but not dangerous bite, and how we control it.
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Funnel-Web Spider
What Melbourne's funnel-web risk really is, how it differs from Sydney's, and the emergency first aid to know.
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Bed Bugs
How to spot bed bugs early, how infestations spread, and why heat treatment clears them when DIY cannot.
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Wasps
European and paper wasps, the sting and anaphylaxis risk, and why an established nest is a job for a professional.
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Fleas
Why most of a flea problem hides in the carpet, and how treating the home and pet together finally clears it.
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Possums
Brushtail and ringtail possums in the roof, what Victorian law allows, and how humane exclusion keeps them out.
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Silverfish
The damp-loving insect that damages paper and fabric, where it hides, and how we control it.
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Beetles
Carpet beetles and pantry beetles — the larvae that damage fabric and stored food, and how to clear them.
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Moths
Clothes moths and pantry moths, why the larvae do the damage, and how a professional treatment clears them.
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Flies
House, blow, fruit and drain flies, the health risk they carry, and why control means removing the breeding source.
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Mosquitoes
How mosquitoes breed in standing water, the diseases they can carry in Victoria, and how to cut their numbers.
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Wood Borer
The timber-boring beetles behind powder and exit holes, how to tell active damage from old, and how we treat it.
Read the guide →We treat more than twenty pest species across Melbourne, with new guides published through 2026. Not sure what you are dealing with? Call 03 9449 4244 and our team will identify it on the call and advise the next step.
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