Late Summer Wasp Solutions

Wasp season is in full flight at PPS 🕸

PPS have been busy battling wasps all around your local area. Because of our mild climate and lack of natural predators, New Zealand has some of the highest densities of wasps in the world!

NZ has five social invasive species of wasps that are classed as pests, with their sting containing several toxins! These are:

• Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris): Established in the late 1970s. They construct brown nests and are notoriously prevalent in beech forests.
• German Wasp (Vespula germanica): Arrived in the 1940s, likely in crates of aircraft parts. They construct grey nests and have distinct black-and-yellow markings.
• Australian Paper Wasp (Polistes humilis): Introduced in the 1880s. They are mostly found in the northern regions of the North Island.
• Asian Paper Wasp (Polistes chinensis): Identified in Auckland in the late 1970s and have since spread further south. They have yellow-and-black bodies with tan legs.
• European Paper Wasp (Polistes dominula): The most recent arrival, first identified in the Nelson and Picton regions.

NZ also has several native wasps, but they tend to keep to themselves 🐝

Along with threatening human health, wasps are also a significant pest for our native birds and insects too.

The best solution, get Proactive!

The best time of year to get on top of wasps is in spring, before they get a chance to establish with queen trapping. From December, worker wasps become prevalent, and there is not a lot you can do except locate the nest or keep them distracted with traps.
If you are lucky and the nest is able to be located and we are able to treat it directly, this can be a quick and easy fix!
Alternatively, for a short window coming into the cooler season, they begin to look for proteins. During this time, we can use Vespex baits, which were developed here in NZ. Good news, we are an approved Vespex user!

Our Wasp Services Include:

• Wasp Nest Treatments – if you know where the nest is located
• Queen Wasp Trapping – completed from September for best results
• Vespex Wasp Baiting – best completed late summer/early autumn when wasps are collecting protein

Unwanted guests? Call PPS! 0274 PPS NOW

For more information on how to identify wasps and some wasp first aid, check out this DOC article.