Stung, or standing near a nest?
Move away first, and keep kids and pets back. Health NZ says to wash a sting with soap and cold water, then apply an ice pack for 15 minutes. Swelling around the lips and eyes, wheezing or throat tightness are signs of anaphylaxis, so call 111. For first aid advice, ring the National Poisons Centre on 0800 764 766.
How do I know it's a German wasp?
It's a stout wasp, 1.2 to 1.6 cm long, with a black and yellow banded body and a pair of black spots on each yellow band. It flies fast, with its legs tucked in.
Next to a common wasp you'd struggle, because DOC says the two look very similar. Luckily you don't have to catch one to tell them apart. The nest does that for you.
German wasp or common wasp?
| German wasp | Common wasp | |
|---|---|---|
| Nest colour | Grey | Brown |
| Arrived here | 1940s | Late 1970s |
| Colours | Black and yellow | Black and yellow, nearly identical |
Where's the nest?
Often somewhere you can't see it. Waikato Regional Council says these wasps usually nest underground, but sometimes use hollow trees, walls and roofs of buildings. A University of Auckland professor adds clay-covered nests in trees.
To find one, watch from well back. New Plymouth District Council says wasps forage up to 200 m from the nest, so a steady flight line can lead you to it, and it may turn out to be on the neighbour's place.
How big does a German wasp nest get?
DOC says colonies are about the size of a soccer ball, but can become huge if they survive the winter. The largest recorded in New Zealand was at Waimauku, near Auckland, and measured 3.75 m tall and 1.7 m wide.
Size changes the risk, because larger, older nests have more defensive workers. New Plymouth District Council puts breeding season for German wasps at February and March.
Why do they matter beyond the sting?
DOC says New Zealand has some of the highest densities of German and common wasps in the world. Introduced wasps harm native birds and insects, and they've got no natural predators here. So a nest you deal with does a little good beyond your own backyard.
Whose job is it?
That depends on your region. In the Waikato region, rule WASP-1 says occupiers must control common or German wasp nests on their property when directed after a complaint, and the regional council's pest animal staff give advice. In the Bay of Plenty, managing them is the landowner's or occupier's responsibility.
Waikato Regional Council also tells anyone allergic to stings to use a commercial contractor rather than go near a nest.
Until someone gets there
You can
- Mark the spot from a distance, so nobody mows over it.
- Cover food and sweet drinks outdoors.
- Tell the neighbours if the flight line crosses their place.
- Note where the wasps go in, and at what time of day.
Leave to a pest business
- Treating the nest, in the ground or in a building.
- Getting at a nest inside a wall or roof.
- Checking the colony has actually finished.
Where we'd start with German wasps
See wasps streaming in and out of a bank or a gap in the cladding? We'd take that as a nest, keep everyone away from it, and leave the rest to a pest business. Nothing about a German wasp nest rewards a closer look. Give us the location and how near it is to doors and paths.
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.
