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Invasive species

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Help us manage invasive species in Brisbane. Learn what plants and animals are invasive and how to report them.

Cane toad on tiles.

What are invasive species?

Invasive species are non-native plants or animals that have a negative impact on our environment, economy or society. 

They represent the biggest threat to our biodiversity after habitat loss.

If you see invasive plants and animals, you need to report the sighting to Council.

There are also certain invasive species that must be reported to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours.

Biosecurity in Brisbane

Council has developed a Biosecurity Plan in accordance with the Biosecurity Act 2014 and the Natural Assets Local Law 2003

Under the Biosecurity Act 2014, everyone must ensure their activities don’t spread pests, disease or contaminants to living things such as animals, fish or plants.  

Leafy stems of a prickly poppy plant growing on the ground, beside a wall.

Pest animals

Types of invasive species

Cane toads are a significant threat to wildlife and humans. They transmit disease and can cause illness or death to humans and domestic animals if venom is ingested or enters the eye.

Mature female cane toad lays thousands of eggs per season. 

Black eggs are laid in long clear gelatinous strands. Developing tadpoles appear as a black bead strand.

You can take proactive measures to control and prevent them from spreading. 

What you can do

To remove eggs and prevent spreading, use disposable gloves and:

  • lift the egg strand from the water
  • put the egg strand in a bag and throw it out with your general waste, or
  • lay the eggs in the sun and dry.

To deter cane toads from your property:

  • use fences 50 centimetres high that are made of plastic or metal 
  • use natural barriers such as dense bushes, shrubs, grasses, rocks and logs. 

Although non-native, the cane toad is not listed as a species that must be managed in the Biosecurity Act 2014. This is because they have become so well established that eradication is no longer feasible.  

To report cane toads:

Keeping Moreton Island cane toad free

Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) does remain cane toad free, however. It is one of only a few locations in coastal Queensland where cane toads are not found. We want to keep this area cane toad free to protect local species.

To keep Moreton Island cane toad free, check your camping and fishing gear before travelling to reduce the risk that you may accidentally transport cane toads to the island. 

Be vigilant when unpacking, as every year cane toads try to sneak across with visitors. As camper trailers, utes and vehicles are unpacked, be on the look-out for stow aways. If you find one, contact the Park Ranger who will ensure it is humanely euthanised. 

To report cane toads on Moreton Island (Mulgumpin), you can:  

Download the fact sheet to learn more about how you can help keep cane toads off Moreton Island.

Video: Cane Toad Detection

One of the ways we’re ensuring cane toads stay off the island is by using cane toad detection dogs.

View a demonstration of the cane toad detection dogs.

Transcript 

Hi. My name's Steve Austin and this is Tommy.

Tommy's a working English Springer Spaniel and we're very fortunate to work for the Brisbane City Council at the lovely Moreton Island, doing our very best to make sure no cane toads get on the island, to help Brisbane City Council.

Hopefully we can continue to keep Moreton Island free of toads.

The red imported fire ant (fire ant) is the most dangerous ant species found in Brisbane. Bites from fire ants can be severe.

Fire ants look like ordinary house or garden ants. They vary in size from 2-6mm and are copper brown in colour with a darker abdomen.

Fire ants can be identified by their aggressive behaviour when their nest is disturbed. 

Nests can be inconspicuous and look like a small bucket of soil that has been gently tipped onto the ground. There are no entry or exit holes, and no ant activity will be observed if the nest is undisturbed. Nests can be established in garden beds, lawns, pot plants, along fence lines, at the base of trees and along the edge of concrete paths.

What you can do

If you suspect you have fire ants, keep children and pets away from the area where you think there is a nest.

Don’t touch the nest or break it open until treatment has been completed. 

For more information about fire ants, visit the National Fire Ant Eradication Program.

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Report fire ants at your property to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours:

A specialist will inspect your property and carry out a treatment of the nest. You won’t be charged for the inspection or treatment.

Yellow crazy ants don’t sting, however they do spray formic acid when they are disturbed.

They are 5 millimetres long and have a yellowish tan with a slender body and long antennae.

To report Yellow crazy ants, you can:  

European red foxes can injure or kill poultry, livestock and domestic pets.

They also have the potential to spread diseases which may affect human health.

European red foxes must not be distributed, kept, given away, sold, traded, released into the environment, moved or fed. 

What you can do

To deter foxes from entering your property, you can:

  • construct a fox-proof enclosure for poultry 
  • clean up uneaten pet food and excess fallen fruit from trees 
  • cover and secure compost piles and bins.

Stay away from foxes and their dens.

To report foxes, you can: 

Deer not kept in a deer-proof enclosure are classed as feral.

They must not be distributed, given away, sold, traded, released into the environment, moved or fed. It’s also illegal to feed them.  

The feral deer species found around Brisbane are:

  • Rusa deer

  • Red deer

  • Fallow deer 

Feral deer can:

  • damage native vegetation

  • reduce water quality in creeks, wetlands and rivers

  • create traffic hazards 

  • attract illegal hunting

  • transmit diseases and parasites to humans, domestic animals and wildlife

  • behave aggressively.

What you can do

To deter deer from entering your property, you can:

  • remove food sources such as fallen fruit from trees  

  • manage weeds in your grass (deer feed on weeds)

  • install exclusion fencing if you have a small property.

To report feral deer, you can:

Cats without owners and that are not microchipped are non-domestic cats. This includes those that are semi-dependent on humans, stray or feral. 

Non-domestic cats can prey on small animals, carry parasites and pose a risk to human health.  

They must not be distributed, given away, sold, traded, released into the environment, moved or fed. 

What you can do

To limit the non-domestic cat population:

  • don’t feed a cat that you do not own

  • don't release a domestic cat into the environment.

Always keep your pets safely secured or inside. Under Council’s Animals Local Law 2017, owners are required to provide an enclosure for their animal to keep it on the property and prevent it from wandering. 

To report feral cat, you can:

Rabbits are Australia’s most destructive introduced pest.

They can damage vegetation by eating seeds and seedlings and grazing on native grasses. 

They also contribute to the decline of native animal's numbers through competition for resources. Their burrows and digging can cause erosion and increase sedimentation of waterways.

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It is illegal to keep a rabbit as a pet in Brisbane.

What you can do

Monitor your property every month to check for evidence of rabbit activity. There are 2 monitoring methods.

  • Daytime inspection for fresh rabbit droppings, diggings and holes in or under fencing.

  • Nighttime inspection for feeding rabbits.

The most effective way to remove rabbits from your property is to destroy all warrens to ensure they don’t recolonise.

If you find rabbits under disused sheds and buildings:  

  • remove flooring to gain access to the burrow  

  • remove nearby piles of rubbish.

To report rabbits, you can:

Common mynas are native to India and can cause significant negative impacts to our local biodiversity. 

They compete aggressively for nesting hollows, displacing, outcompeting and excluding many native wildlife species.

Common mynas can: 

  • cause environmental damage 
  • pose a health risk by nesting in roofs, leaving droppings and mites that are ideal conditions for disease 
  • damage fruit crops in some areas.  

What you can do

To limit common myna activity, you can:

  • refrain from feeding them

  • plant trees and shrubs to reduce the amount of open space in your garden

  • if using artificial nest boxes to encourage wildlife, use a nest box with a backwards-facing entry. This allows access to small possums, gliders, small bats and some native birds, while excluding access to common mynas

  • remove unnecessary water sources and left-over pet food from the backyard.

Do not try to kill or injure the birds.

Invasive plants can have a detrimental impact on native species and vegetation.

Examples of pest plants include:

  • water hyacinth
  • broad-leaf pepper tree
  • parthenium.

What you can do

To help control invasive plants:  

  • only use native plants in aquariums and outdoor ponds (e. g. hornwort, thin vale, water sprite) 
  • choose native or non-invasive plants when planting your garden 
  • use our weed identification tool to identify weeds in your yard, learn control methods and replace them with native alternatives. 

You can also report invasive weeds using our online form.

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Important things to know

Some invasive plant species must be reported to Biosecurity Queensland within 24 hours.

Other pest animals

Rats can cause damage to your property by chewing through household items such as:

  • doors
  • skirtings
  • food containers
  • machinery and electrical wiring.

They also pose health risks to humans because they carry and transmit diseases. 

Two types of rats can be found in your home or garden.

  • Large brown sewer rats that nest and burrow under buildings, generally near commercial farm areas.
  • Grey or black climbing rats that generally nest in homes.

What you can do

If you suspect you’ve got rats or mice in your home, you can purchase baits or traps from a hardware store.

Follow the safety instructions on the packet and ensure they are stored out of reach of children or pets.

What Council is doing

We use trained rodent detection dogs to find areas where rodents gather or nest in commercial areas and residential properties.

If your property has a rat or mice infestation, call our 24-hour Contact Centre on 07 3403 8888.

An officer will investigate the site and advise you or the property owner on how to control the problem.

Mosquitoes are common in areas with warm and wet climates.

The three mosquito species commonly found in Brisbane are:

  • saltmarsh mosquitoes, which breed in coastal areas

  • freshwater-breeding mosquitoes, which breed in temporary ground pools

  • container-breeding mosquitoes, which breed in backyards.

What Council is doing

We deliver Australia’s leading mosquito management program all year round. 

Our teams conduct ground and aerial treatments to target breeding sites in coastal saltmarshes and temporary ground pools.

Our expert entomologists also collaborate with other local councils and the Department of Health to coordinate mosquito control throughout the region.

We inspect breeding sites regularly via:

  • all terrain vehicle (ATV) teams

  • utility trucks

  • officers on foot

  • helicopter with ground support from ATV teams for large coastal areas.

What you can do

Container-breeding mosquitoes breed in backyards and lay eggs in small amounts of stagnant water.  

You can help prevent mosquitoes breeding at your property by removing any standing water around your home.

Download our factsheet to learn more about mosquito control.

Restricted and prohibited species

Pest animal Scientific/botanical name
Blackbuck antelope Antilope cervicapra
Hog deer (feral) Axis Porcinus
Red-eared slider turtle Trachemys scripta elegans
Sambar deer Rusa unicolor, syn. Cervus unicolor

Pest plant Scientific/botanical name
Alligator weed Altemanthera philoxeroides
Bitou bush Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata
Boneseed Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. Monilifera
Bridal creeper Asparagus asparagoides
Candyleaf Stevia ovata
Cabomba Cabomba caroliniana
Mexican bean tree Cecropia. palmata and C. peltata
Mexican feather grass Nassella tenuissima
Miconia Miconia calvescens, M. racemosa and M. nervosa

If your plant species is not on this list, check our weeds database to identify it and find out how to keep it under control.

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Note

Some prohibited and restricted species must be reported to Biosecurity Queensland.

Report invasive species

Report invasive animals and plants to Council using the relevant online form.

You can also call:

Report it: Feral animal sightings

You can report a feral animal sighting using the online form.

Cane toad on tiles.

Report it: Pest plants and weeds

Complete the form to report dangerous plants and harmful weeds.

Leafy stems of a prickly poppy plant growing on the ground, beside a wall.

Report to Biosecurity Queensland

You can help eradicate these restricted and prohibited species by reporting any sightings to Biosecurity Queensland.

You must do this within 24 hours of the sighting.

Pest animal Scientific/botanical name
Asian honey bee Apis cerana javana
Barbary sheep Ammotragus lervia
Electric ant or little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata
Red imported fire ants Solenopsis invicta
Tropical fire ant or ginger ant Solenopsis geminate
West Indian drywood termite Cryptotermes brevis

Pest plant Scientific/botanical name
Acacias non-indigenous to Australia Acacia spp. other than Acacia nilotica and Acacia farnesiana
Anchored water hyacinth Eichhornia azurea
Annual thunbergia Thunbergia annua
Bitter weed Helenium amarum
Candleberry myrtle Morella faya
Cholla cactus/Coral cactus/Devil’s rope pear/Snake cactus/Hudson pear Cylindropuntia spp. and their hybrids, other than C. spinosior, C. fulgida and C. imbricate
Christ’s thorn Ziziphus spina-christi
Eurasian water milfoil Myriophyllum spicatum
Fanworts Cabomba spp. other than C. caroliniana
Floating water chestnuts Trapa spp.
Harrisia cactus Harrisia spp. syn. Eriocereus spp. other than H. martinii, H. tortuosa and H. pomanensis syn. Cereus pomanensis)
Honey locust Gleditsia spp. other than G. triacanthos Gleditsia spp. other than G. triacanthos
Horsetails Equisetum spp.
Kochia Kochia scoparia syn Bassia scoparia
Lagarosiphon Lagarosiphon major
Mesquites All Prosopis spp. and hybrids other than Prosopis glandulosa, P. pallida and P. velutina
Mexican bean tree all Cecropia spp. other than C. pachystachya, C. palmata and C. peltata
Miconia Miconia spp. other than M. calvescens, M. cionotricha, M. nervosa and M. racemosa
Mikania vine Mikania spp
Peruvian primrose bush Ludwigia peruviana
Prickly pear Opuntia spp. other than O. aurantiaca, O. elata, O. ficus-indica, O. microdasys, O. monacantha, O. stricta, O. streptacantha and O. tomentosa
Red sesbania Sesbania punicea
Salvinias Salvinia spp. other than S. molesta
Serrated tussock Nassella trichotoma
Siam weed Chromolaena odorata
Spiked pepper Piper aduncum
Tropical soda apple Solanum viarum
Water soldiers Stratiotes aloides
Witchweed Striga spp. other than native species
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Note

Certain species of invasive plants and animals are listed as prohibited or restricted matter under the Biosecurity Act 2014.

Learn more about prohibited and restricted species.