The swarm of wasps that attacked and repeatedly stung Masterton woman Mary Everitt on Wednesday morning is just one of countless nests troubling Wairarapa. Greater Wellington regional council bio-security officer Steve Playle said the cold start to summer has resulted in a mass of wasp nests throughout the region. "Wasps are aggressiveby nature. After having a cold start to summer and it now warming up we are feeding quite a lot of wasp enquiries." Mr Playle said one good hive could generate numerous queens, which then get pumped out creating numerous nests for the following year. "The wasp is quite a big pest around the country and it's probably getting worse as they spread each year," he said. Mr Playle's advice to those with wasp problems is to buy a pest insecticide to destroy the nests. "If people don't want to take them on themselves then they can call pest control to come and fix it." He said when the wasps come into contact with the toxin they take it back to the nest with them, and it affects the other wasps. Jae Pest Control Service part owner Felicity Checkley said they are dealing with up to three wasp nests a day. "They have their season where they go flat out and that's what's happening at the moment," she said. The wasps are destroyed when pest control is called and Mrs Checkley said it was safer to get a professional to come and deal with any wasp problems. Carterton council chief executive Colin Wright said the wasp problem didn't seem to be worse than any other year. "We are receiving a lot of calls about wasp nests but we generally get enquiries at this time of year," he said.
