What have you seen?
A person in a dust mask crouching in a roof space, shining a torch along the rafters

Hastings, Hawke's Bay

Pest control in Hastings

Rodents in autumn, bees and birds in spring.

Hastings District Council's advice is to get ahead of rats and mice from late March through May, before winter, while bees and mynas in the eaves are the spring and summer calls.

Seen a pest in Hastings?

What have you seen?

Wasp nest or bees near people? Keep children and pets away. Trouble breathing after a sting: call 111.

Only one local pest business gets your number.

  • Matched to what you've seen
  • Only one local pest business gets your number.

  • Matched to what you've seen

    Before a pest business can take jobs from Which Pest, we record the work it handles, so a borer job never lands with a business that only does wasps.

  • Only one local pest business gets your number.

    We share your contact details with one local pest business so it can get in touch about this job.

What happens next

A local pest business calls you.

What have you seen?

  1. Tell us what you've seen

    The pest, one detail about it, and your postcode. A few taps.

  2. We pass it on

    We pass your enquiry to one local pest business that handles exactly this. They quote, do the work and deal with you directly.

  3. They call you

    The pest business talks it through, usually inspects first, and quotes in writing. You decide.

Pest control in Hastings: what to know before anyone calls

On this page

If someone finds rat bait

If a child swallows rat bait, call the National Poisons Centre on 0800 764 766, any time. If it's a pet, take it to the vet now. Hawke's Bay Regional Council says to keep baits in secure places away from children, pets and stock.

What's different in Hastings

An autumn clock for rodents

Hastings District Council says mice and rats make their presence felt around backyards and homes each autumn, as they look for shelter. It advises a baiting programme from late March through to May, and says controlling them is the job of landowners and residents.

Next to council land?

The council says a local or regional council may help landowners or residents with pest control, which can apply to properties beside land a council owns or manages. Worth a call if the rats seem to come from the reserve next door.

Cape to City

Hawke's Bay Regional Council's Cape to City project, started in 2015, covers 26,000 ha between Hastings and Cape Kidnappers, reaching south to Waimārama.

Mynas in the eaves

Mynas nest in cavities, house eaves included, throughout the North Island north of 40 degrees south. Nest building starts in late August or early September, and eggs are laid from November to early February.

Two ants

DOC lists Hawke's Bay among the places Argentine ants are known, and the regional council says Darwin's ants often build up in urban gardens.

Getting ahead of rats and mice before winter

  1. Clear the rubbish

    The council says to get rid of rubbish before it becomes food. The EPA adds that old cardboard and piles of timber, bricks and rubble give rats somewhere to nest.

  2. Put food away at night

    Pet food counts, and so does compost: the EPA suggests rat-proofing it at night.

  3. Trim back the trees

    Rats are good climbers, so branches against the house give them a path onto the roof.

  4. Book a look in late March

    If you've had rats before, autumn is when a pest business can find the gaps and set bait stations, locked so curious pets can't reach them.

  5. Listen through winter

    Scratching above the ceiling after dark means something got through. Note where and when.

A swarm, or bees in the wall?

A cluster of bees hanging off a branch or fence is a swarm, and it's a beekeeper's job. Apiculture New Zealand says to leave it alone, that swarms aren't inclined to sting unless provoked, and that swarming runs from as early as August to January. Our bee swarms guide explains more.

Bees flying in and out of a gap in a wall, roof or chimney have moved in. That's a job for a pest business, so tell us it's bees in a building.

Mynas in the eaves

Mynas use gaps in the eaves as nest sites. A pest business can proof those gaps with screens or covers. Ask when they'd do the work given the nesting months, and what they'd do about any nest already there.

What we'd do in Hastings

Put a reminder in the calendar for late March. Rats and mice are far easier to keep out than to get out, and the council's own timing gives you a head start. For bees, check whether it's a swarm or a nest first, because that decides who you call.

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.

What have you seen?

Questions

Pest control in Hastings: common questions

When should I deal with rats in Hastings?

The district council says late March through May, before rats and mice become a problem in winter.

Who removes a bee swarm in Hastings?

A beekeeper. Apiculture New Zealand lists swarm collectors by region. Bees living inside a building are a job for a pest business.

Will the council help with rats next to a reserve?

Possibly. Hastings District Council says a local or regional council may help where a property is next to land a council owns or manages, so ask.

Seen a pest in Hastings? Tell us what it is.

What you have seen, one tap about it and your postcode. Then a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you.

Before anyone starts

What to ask a pest business

Related help

More on pest control in Hastings

Rodent controlShip rat, Norway rat or mouse, why winter brings them indoors, and what a bait programme involves.Read itBee removalSwarm or colony in the wall? How to tell, who to call, and why the comb has to come out.Read itBee swarmsWhat to do about a swarm, how to find a collector, and when bees need a pest business.Read itBird proofingPigeons, starlings, sparrows and mynas: what they do to a house, and how proofing works.Read itPest control in Hawke's BayWhat Hawke's Bay Regional Council does and doesn't do, two ants to tell apart, and the region's big cockroach.Read itPest control in NapierNapier's leg-hold trap ban and hive permits, rats, Darwin's and Argentine ants, and the estuary.Read it

Where this information comes from

Rules and advice change, so check the source before you act on anything here. How we write and check these pages.

What have you seen?