What's different in Albany
Built-up land has nearly tripled
Auckland Council says built-up land in the Lucas Creek catchment rose from 19 per cent in 1996/97 to 58 per cent in 2018/19. Next door, the Oteha Stream catchment went from 53 to 66 per cent.
A growth area
Auckland Council names Albany, along with Hobsonville, among the major urban developments of the upper Waitematā between 2008/09 and 2018/19, with Lucas Creek a main receiving catchment.
The tide comes up the creek
Lucas Creek has been an Auckland Council tidal creek water quality site since 1993, with urban land alongside.
Still leafy
Upper Harbour, the local board area that takes in Albany, had 28 per cent tree canopy in 2016/18, second only to Kaipātiki among Auckland's urban boards.
Pest control services in Albany: new homes, old gullies
A new house isn't automatically pest-proof. Gaps around pipes, vents and garage doors let mice in, and rats can live in the gullies and bush that thread through Albany's streets. When land nearby is being built on, it's worth checking your own gaps.
Argentine ants are under sustained control across the Auckland region, and new lawns and garden beds bring plenty of soil and potted plants in. Auckland Council's advice is to check pot plants and soil for ants before you move them.
Wasps in Albany
Bush gullies, new banks and retaining walls are where nests tend to hide. If wasps are busy around one spot in late summer, keep everyone back and tell us where. Swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing after a sting, means 111.
Which Albany?
This page is for Albany on Auckland's North Shore. For the rest of the shore, see pest control on the North Shore.
Worth checking in a newer home
- Gaps where pipes, cables and vents go through the cladding.
- Garage door seals, and the gap at the bottom of the door.
- Pot plants and bagged soil for ant trails before they come inside.
- Banks and retaining walls for wasp traffic, from a distance.
Where we'd start with pests in Albany
In a newer Albany home we'd start with the garage and the pipe gaps under the kitchen, because that's where mice and ants find the way in. Then tell us Rats or mice, Ants or A wasp nest, and where you're seeing it.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
