KAURI DIEBACK PRECAUTIONS ARE IN PLACE ACROSS ALL OUR ACTIVITIES. More details
German Wasp Baiting
The Common Wasp and the German Wasp are the two most often seen in the Titirangi area. To combat these animal pests STNN are working with neighbours to blitz over the summer months, using Vespex bait. Vespex is aimed specifically at these two varieties.
Why German Wasps?
New Zealand has some of the highest densities of German and common wasps in the world. This is because they have no natural predators here, our winters are mild and there is plenty of food for them.
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Introduced German and common social wasps are very similar in appearance, and both have the characteristic black and yellow colouration.
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Social wasps live as colonies in nests of honeycomb-like cells. They form complex social groups and all members of a colony help raise the young.
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The German wasp was introduced in the 1940s and the common wasp arrived in the late 1970s but is now widespread. Both species live in large colonies, about the size of a soccer ball. These colonies can become huge if they manage to survive over winter.
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German wasp nests are grey. Common wasp nests are brown. The world's largest recorded wasp nest was discovered at Waimauku (near Auckland). It was 3.75 metres tall and 1.7 metres wide.
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If you want to know more about German wasps and Vespex
check out the doc.govt.nz site.
About Vespex
You can option to bait with Vespex yourself and
purchasers of Vespex need to undertake a short online course in the safe use of the product and once they register with the manufacturer they can buy the bait.
The STNN have a registered user who will distribute bait stations in their immediate location in South Titirangi.
Although not attractive to bees Vespex is a poison and is toxic to marine life. Safety is important and bait stations are positioned on private property out of reach of children and animals like dogs and cats.
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Collecting data about wasps in South Titriangi
STNN are recording wasp numbers in the ‘activity testing’ phase of this summer's blitz and post-baiting to see how effective the project is.
Anyone interested in registering to use Vespex bait and in setting up a wasp blitz for February/March 2022 are welcome to join our group of interested neighbours. A small trial-run last summer has helped with the prep for this year and are happy to share our experience.
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Please get in touch if you are interested to know more or be involved in our coordinated neighbourhood Vespex baiting.