What's different in West Auckland
A very big neighbour
Auckland Council's 2018 report card puts the Waitākere reporting area at about 31,000 hectares, holding 20% of all the native vegetation in the Auckland region. Roughly half of it is forest, and only the Hūnua Ranges is a bigger continuous block on the Auckland mainland.
Possums get particular attention
Auckland's pest plan gives possums a Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area priority status, which the council says means particular regard for the heritage area in its programmes for that species. Possums are an introduced pest in New Zealand, and on a section backing on to bush they're a likely visitor.
Wasps with room to grow
In 2020 a common wasp nest of roughly 1 m by 2 m by 2.5 m was found high in a tree near Karekare, RNZ reported, and it may have been growing for two years. Most garden nests are far smaller, but the bush edge gives colonies room.
Kauri on the section
Auckland Council's 2018 heritage area report says all kauri forest there is at very high risk from kauri dieback, and 71 per cent of dieback zones were within 50 metres of a track. If you've got kauri on your place, tell the technician before they walk around it.
A wasp nest near the house
Keep children and pets inside and leave the nest alone. If someone who's been stung gets swelling of the face or throat, or has trouble breathing, call 111. First aid help: the National Poisons Centre, 0800 764 766.
Rodent control in West Auckland
Ship rats are the climbers, and a section that runs into bush or big trees gives them a road to the roof. The sound is usually quick scratching and running above the ceiling at night. Mice make lighter, busier noises, often inside the walls.
Possums are heavier: thumps, a slow walk across the ceiling, sometimes a growl. Telling the pest business which of those you're hearing helps them plan the visit.
Wasp nest removal in West Auckland
Nests turn up in banks, retaining walls, ceiling spaces and old stumps as well as lawns. One on your section is for you, or a pest business, to deal with. One in the regional park is the council's: Auckland Council told RNZ it would have brought in a specialist for the Karekare nest. More on what to do first is on our Auckland wasp page.
Worth checking on a bush-edge section
- Branches touching the roof or spouting.
- Gaps where pipes and cables go through the walls.
- Subfloor vents, and whether any are broken.
- Compost, chicken feed and fallen fruit that draw rats in.
- Any papery nest or busy hole in a bank, seen from well back.
Where we'd start with pests in West Auckland
On a West Auckland section we'd start at the roofline: what's touching it, and what's been chewed. Then record the noise on your phone one night if you can. Tell us Rats or mice, Birds or possums or A wasp nest, whichever fits, and it goes to a local pest business.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
