Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Bay of Plenty pest controllers busy with 'mega' wasp nests, ant infestations

Shauni James
By Shauni James
Rotorua Weekender reporter·Rotorua Daily Post·
7 Jan, 2022 08:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Bay Pest Services owner-operator Chris Brunel. Photo / File

Bay Pest Services owner-operator Chris Brunel. Photo / File

A "mega" wasp nest and ant infestations are just some of the jobs Bay of Plenty pest controllers have been kept busy with this summer.

Local services say the extra hot temperatures have meant some creepy crawlies are more prevalent this year.

Proactive Pest Solutions Ltd co-owner Rhiannon Mitchell said they had been really busy so far this summer, which was great because they had only been in business for 18 months.

Mitchell said they had been inundated with jobs for fleas and especially ants, which were loving the warmth this year.

"Ants have been a really big one this summer; everyone is struggling with ants."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We've had a customer who has been living in their house for 50 years and never had a problem with ants but has been this year. And this isn't just in Rotorua; we work out of town and it's definitely throughout the Bay of Plenty."

Joel Dunn, from Proactive Pest Solutions, all geared up. Photo / Andrew Warner
Joel Dunn, from Proactive Pest Solutions, all geared up. Photo / Andrew Warner

She had also noticed calls regarding problems with wasps were starting to pick up.

Her main advice was not to have a "she'll be right" attitude to start off with.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"People leave the problem and then it's an expensive fix. If you call earlier it's cheaper."

Alpeco managing director Heiko Kaiser said they had been getting many calls about flies and had recently been called to a "mega" wasp nest under a house in Maketu.

Discover more

Two new species discovered in Rotorua forest

13 Oct 12:27 AM

Biosecurity officers to monitor Rotorua boat ramps all year round

08 Jul 12:16 AM

Blue Lake pest control efforts ruined by vandals

27 Apr 08:00 PM

Pest controllers working to keep creepy crawlies at bay

07 Jan 09:30 AM
A mega wasp nest, which was under a house in Maketu. Photo / Supplied
A mega wasp nest, which was under a house in Maketu. Photo / Supplied

Kaiser said bed bugs were also still around, though spiders and ants were the biggest issues.

He said this summer was becoming busier than last year and they had been to some big-scale ant jobs at campgrounds and big properties with mass infestations, including a Rotorua home with an ant nest in its roof.

"I think the problem of ants is bigger than last year. With this dry, hot weather, they go crazy in it."

Kaiser said German cockroaches could be a problem and was an issue that they often put down to hygiene and cleanliness.

"For example, some tenants need to take more responsibility and have more respect for other people's property.

"Don't leave food standing around and clean thoroughly."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He recommended people get proper treatments and professional help early in the season.

Alpeco managing director Heiko Kaiser was ready to tackle the big wasp nest in Maketu. Photo / Supplied
Alpeco managing director Heiko Kaiser was ready to tackle the big wasp nest in Maketu. Photo / Supplied

"Do something before it's too late. Check around your house about every three months to see if there are any areas pests have been established.

"Let us know early and that helps keep the cost down."

He said issues with birds, including sparrows, swallows and seagulls, were also becoming more common, and Rotorua restaurants were complaining birds were taking food from customers.

"We need to do something about swarms of birds over this season. Some people love the birds and feed them, while some don't like them. There needs to be a compromise of some sort."

Bay Pest Services owner Chris Brunel also said they had been busy so far this summer.

"It's been extremely hot, so that always promotes the activity of insects. We have noticed quite a few more wasps, and we even think some of the wasp nests are wintering over as we are finding that a few of them are really established."

Brunel, who has been in the industry for 31 years, said he had seen a lot of the insects' patterns and he thought some were starting to show unusual patterns, including wasps.

If people did discover a wasp nest, even though it might seem simple, get a professional in and don't attempt to remove it yourself, he said.

"It can develop into a disaster very quickly."

So far he said he hadn't seen much of a fly season, but ants were always a problem in Rotorua.

Rotorua Pest Control owner-operator Neil Olive said so far this summer had been as busy as last year and he had been getting calls for the majority of insects.

Keeping your house cool could help fewer flies come in, he said.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Safety risks': Concerns as hospital security guards double as cleaners

05 Jul 10:45 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Bid for inquiry into Ōhinemutu sewage spills fails

05 Jul 06:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM

Chris Hipkins agreed to meet him in Wellington after the Prime Minister said 'no'.

'Safety risks': Concerns as hospital security guards double as cleaners

'Safety risks': Concerns as hospital security guards double as cleaners

05 Jul 10:45 PM
Bid for inquiry into Ōhinemutu sewage spills fails

Bid for inquiry into Ōhinemutu sewage spills fails

05 Jul 06:00 PM
Pedestrian dies after being hit by vehicle in Canterbury

Pedestrian dies after being hit by vehicle in Canterbury

04 Jul 08:04 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP