What's local to Porirua
Public places are the council's
Porirua City Council says it will deal with vermin, wasps and bee nests on public land, parks and reserves. It takes reports on a line it says is staffed 24 hours a day.
Private property is yours
The council is just as clear that owners are responsible for removing these pests from private property. For pests in Greater Wellington's regional parks, it points people to Greater Wellington.
Hill country behind the city
Belmont Regional Park runs through the hills between Porirua and Lower Hutt, with an entrance at Cannons Creek. Two community groups there destroyed 1,875 predators in a year, Greater Wellington said.
Backyard trapping
Pest Free Porirua was active in eight suburbs by May 2018, the council said, with more than 1300 traps handed out and about 6000 rats and other predators caught since 2015.
Found a nest? Work out whose it is
In a park, reserve or other public place
Ring Porirua City Council and tell them exactly where it is. That one is the council's to deal with.
In a regional park
Call Greater Wellington instead.
On your property
It's yours to sort, which means a pest business for wasps. If Greater Wellington sends a written direction, its pest plan gives you 10 working days to have every wasp nest on the property destroyed.
A clump of bees hanging in the open
That's a swarm, and it's a beekeeper's job. Apiculture New Zealand lists swarm collectors by region.
Bees in the wall are different
A swarm is bees on the move, and Apiculture New Zealand says they aren't inclined to sting unless provoked. Swarming season can start as early as August and run to January.
Bees that come and go from a gap in a wall or roof are living there, and that's a job for a pest business. Our guide to bee swarms has more.
Your part, and theirs
You can
- Keep children and pets away from any nest or swarm.
- Photograph it from well back and note exactly where it is.
- Report anything in a park or reserve to the council.
- Store food and rubbish so rats have nothing to come for.
Leave to a pest business
- Wasp nests on your property, wherever they are.
- Bees living inside a wall, roof or chimney.
- Rats or mice inside the house.
Our take on pests in Porirua
Porirua is refreshingly clear about this, because the council spells out what it handles. Check where the problem is first. If it's on your side of the fence, tap the pest you've seen and tell the business what's going on.
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.
