Does Wellington have a rule about wasp nests?

Yes, at regional level. Under Greater Wellington's pest plan, a written direction from an authorised person gives an occupier 10 working days to have all wasp nests on the property destroyed. Even without one, a nest near the house is worth handing to a pest business.

Should I report a rat I see in Wellington?

In Miramar, Kilbirnie, Lyall Bay, Rongotai, Hataitai or Mt Victoria, yes: Predator Free Wellington asks for those sightings. A rat living inside your house is still a job for a pest business.

Are there Argentine ants in Wellington?

DOC lists Wellington among the places they're known. They're honey-brown, 2 to 3 mm long and often travel in trails five or more ants wide, so if that's what's crossing your bench, tell the pest business it may be Argentine ants.

Pest control Wellington: wasp rules, rats and old timber

What's different in Wellington

A rule about wasp nests

Greater Wellington's pest plan has a wasp rule with teeth. If an authorised person sends you a written direction, you have 10 working days to get every wasp nest on the property you occupy destroyed, and ignoring it is an offence under the Biosecurity Act. In practice that means ringing a pest business, not climbing a ladder with a can of fly spray.

A city clearing out rats

Predator Free Wellington, backed by Greater Wellington and Wellington City Council, aims to remove every rat, possum, stoat and weasel from the Wellington area. Greater Wellington's 2026/27 plan sets the order: the Miramar Peninsula first, then Island Bay to the CBD, then the CBD to Zealandia.

Argentine ants, with no rule attached

DOC lists Wellington among the places Argentine ants are known, and calls them a major household and garden pest that can bite. Greater Wellington's plan lists them only as a harmful organism to watch, so a colony on a private section comes down to the owner.

Wind, sun and few frosts in town

NIWA describes the region as generally sunny and windy, with the strongest winds around its south-western tip. Air frosts are rare on exposed city hills such as Kelburn, so winter seldom gives insects a hard stop there.

Seen a rat in Miramar or Kilbirnie?

Report it. Predator Free Wellington asks residents to report rats, stoats, weasels or possums seen in Miramar, Kilbirnie, Lyall Bay, Rongotai, Hataitai or Mt Victoria, because a single animal there matters to the project.

A report helps the wider effort, but it won't get a rat out of your ceiling. Across the rest of the city, rats and mice are mostly a winter job, and Tenancy Services says that's when they more often get into houses. Scratching above the ceiling at night, droppings in the pantry and chewed food packets are the signs to look for.

What does the wasp rule mean for you?

Very little, until someone writes to you. Most nests are sorted long before that: you notice the traffic, keep people away, and a pest business takes care of it. Greater Wellington also says it runs a referral service for owners and occupiers who need wasp control, and it has a pest line.

Its plan says German and common wasps turn up anywhere from backyards to parks, stream banks and native bush. Asian paper wasps often hang their open combs from houses and other buildings, so check under the eaves as well as the garden. Our page on wasp nest removal covers what happens next.

Older timber, and borer

Wellington has plenty of older houses. A 2020 OneRoof and Valocity analysis named it among the areas with the greatest share of homes built before the 1950s. Settled.govt.nz says borer larvae spend 2 to 4 years eating soft timber in floorboards, piles and weatherboards, so an older house deserves a look underneath.

Buying? Settled says to make sure the building inspection includes borer, because some inspectors exclude it. Our page on borer treatment in Wellington goes further.

Mud packed into timber?

Leave it exactly as it is and ring MPI. That's how MPI wants suspected termite signs handled, and it's a report to the ministry, never a pest business job.

Getting ready for a Wellington pest business

Find the way under the house: on a sloping section it's often a door or hatch on the low side.
Note when you hear scratching, and whether it's above the ceiling or inside a wall.
Photograph any nest from well back, and work out whether it's on your side of the boundary.
Dig out any building report that mentions borer or the subfloor.

If it were our house in Wellington

We'd pin down what we're dealing with before anything else. Noises in the ceiling, a nest by the deck, a wide trail of small brown ants and fine dust under a floorboard are four different jobs. Tap the one that matches, or Not sure what it is if you can't tell, and describe what you've seen.

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?

Pest control in Wellington

Pest control in Wellington: what to know before anyone calls