There’s not much point in trying to get rid of a gecko. They're lightening fast and even if you manage to grab one by the tail, the amazing gecko has evolved to self-amputate for a quick getaway, and grow another tail to be pulled off another day.  Verdict: Let the curious little creatures stay to keep the mozzies at bay.  When it comes to crawly things, it doesn’t get much creepier than a cockroach. The first time one of these huge armour clad bugs scuttled out of my kitchen bin, I shot over to my neighbour fearing thousands were lurking in the cavities of my newly rented home, about to swarm me at any moment.  My neighbour assured me that I didn't necessarily have an infestation and that cockroaches are common insects in Australia, getting into houses through any crack or vent.  As it turned out, she was right. Still, the fact that even one creature can live for a week after it’s been beheaded, and give birth to offspring without copulation, is one freak too many for me.  With no mouth to drink with, a cockroach will die from a lack of water before it dies from lack of a head. They thrive in all conditions from the desert to the Arctic and have done so for 300 million years, scientists say. Clearly, cockroaches are aliens that belong in science fiction movies and not in my home.  Verdict: Spray it with insecticide and dispose of the carcase once a CSI investigator has confirmed its death in triplicate.  Paper wasps live in small colonies of around 20 and are non-aggressive unless their nests, which have a papery appearance, are threatened. So it's best to leave well alone unless someone in your household is allergic to the sting of wasps.  When wasps moved into my porch, my neighbour came to the rescue, once again, with a can of insecticide, a big broom and a pair of stilettos. First she sprayed the nest until the wasps dropped out. "It’s best to deal with the wasps after sunset when they're docile," she advised before swiping the nest down with her broom and making dust of it under her sharp shoes.  Verdict: Destroy the nest if it’s in a high traffic area or if you, or any member of your family, are prone to anaphylactic shock. But get someone else to do it, like a neighbour with a mean pair of shoes.  Huntsmans are frighteningly large hand-sized arachnophobia-inducing creatures that hang out in houses. According to the National Museum of Australia, hairy huntsmans are more likely to run away and are not considered dangerous. However, as with many spiders, their bite is venomous and may cause some nasty effects.  I prefer to coax these large insect-eaters outside where they can stand guard against alien cockroach invasions.  Verdict: Carefully release them back into the wild with rubber gloves, several brooms and a Tupperware box.  Possums are too shy to come into the house, but after dark these nocturnal fat-bottomed cuties waddle along my balcony rail with a clumsy trepidation before dropping onto my deck with a "hello there" doof.  If only Australian houses didn't have tin roofs. That's where possums like to play their middle-of-the-night games of tag, or whatever it is they do. Skipperty ...bumperty ...doof doof doof . . . back and forth they go across the roof.  Be careful not to mix up your antipodean rules. Possums are pests in New Zealand but they are protected in Australia.  Verdict: Too cute to mute. Get earplugs.  It started soon after I arrived in Queensland. I felt a nip. I swatted, swiped or flicked, then inspected the skin to find nothing. No black and red splat, no mark, no swelling, no pinprick, no trace of any micro insect whatsoever, except a persistent nip, nip, nip.  The ghost bug attacked me randomly for around a year. I thought I'd lost more than my electrolytes in the heat until I noticed visitors and other newbie expats displaying the same behaviour. They confirmed they could feel the ghost bug too. Phew.  It's a phantom nipping phenomena that disappeared once I acclimatised to the humidity. I've never managed to unravel or resolve the mystery.  Verdict: Open to any suggestions in the comments box below.  Tracey Croke is a Manchester-born, Australia-based freelance journalist. Her website is at www.traceycroke.com and you can also follow her on Twitter.
Our reader was ready to live in Australia - but she was not ready to   share her home with some uninvited guests. Here's her lighthearted guide to   handling an onslaught of pests.