What's different in Richmond
Tasman's council runs the pest plan
Tasman District Council is the Management Agency for pest management across Tasman and Nelson, and has an office in Richmond. Its December 2024 insect booklet says no pest insects are listed in the regional plan any more, but its Biosecurity Officers can help you work out what you've got.
European paper wasps
The councils' booklet says this newer arrival is now present in Richmond, Nelson, Motueka and Golden Bay. It looks very like the Asian paper wasp, with two tiny yellow dots on top of the thorax, and sometimes nests inside tubular metal framing.
Gisborne cockroaches
The same booklet says they're present throughout Richmond, Nelson City, Māpua and Motueka. They're wingless, turn up at night on outside walls and squeeze into tiny gaps like aluminium joinery recesses.
A termite find in 2006
MPI reported in 2014 that Australian subterranean termites found at Richmond in 2006 had been eradicated. If you ever see mud packed into timber, don't disturb it and ring MPI.
Waimea Estuary
The estuary has its own site-led programme in the Tasman-Nelson plan, covering possums, rats, feral cats and mustelids.
Paper wasps on Richmond houses
Paper wasps hang small, lantern-shaped nests off buildings, often under the eaves. DOC places Asian paper wasps in the top of the South Island, and the European paper wasp has joined them here. They're less aggressive than German wasps, Bay of Plenty Regional Council says, but a nest beside a door still means stings.
Bumblebees are another story. The councils' booklet says they're usually relaxed, nest in the ground and are worth living with, so that buzzing in the lawn may need nothing at all.
Gisborne cockroaches outside, and inside
The booklet says they prefer to live outside but can come indoors, and can build up to big numbers if left alone. Sealing gaps in joinery and around doors helps. For cockroaches that live in the kitchen rather than on the walls outside, see cockroach control.
Ants
Argentine ants came in through Port Nelson and were found in 2001, the booklet says, and DOC lists Nelson among the places they're known. Richmond isn't named in either source. If your ants are honey-brown and trailing thickly, mention it, because that changes how a business treats them.
What we'd do in Richmond
We'd photograph the wasps or cockroaches first, because the species really matters here. Then we'd tap what we've seen. If it's something we didn't recognise at all, we'd ring Tasman's Biosecurity Officers or MPI before anyone treated it.
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.
