MyPestGuide® - Frequently asked questions

Q. How long do I have to wait to get a reply to my report?

Q. How is the information I report being used?

A. Your data may be compiled with other public data from the same state to help verify if certain unwanted pests relevant to Australia's domestic and international import or export trade markets are absent. Your data also helps us to detect and monitor the spread of invasive species so we can protect our terrestrial and aquatic environments which we all depend on.

Q. Are my personal details protected?

A. All reports are saved on a secure government server. With MyPestGuide^®, only reports that you have agreed to share are visible to the reporting community once they have been identified by a government expert. No personal contact details are shared.

Q. Why share reports with the community?

A. Shared reports will help build awareness of pests and let everyone learn about the interesting species present in their local area which may need to be controlled, managed, or protected.

Q. What is inference reporting?

A. An inference report is an assumption the absence of an organism is based on the presence of a similar organism in the same environment and time. For example, when you report an Australian carpet beetle this 'infers' it is not the exotic 'Khapra beetle'. These reports show us that you and others have looked for organisms in the same place and that in this instance, only the local species and not the exotic species was found. By using inference reports we can calculate the probability exotic pests are unlikely to be present in Australia and keep trade going.

Q. What if I find an exotic pest?

A. If you think you have found an exotic pest  please make a report using MyPestGuide^® Reporter [1] or report it online [2]. Our experts will confirm if it is an exotic pest by sending the ID of the organism to your device and by email.
Please do not send live or dead specimens in the mail unless you are instructed to do so