Active Campaign To Control Wasp Menace Has Commenced

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 82, 16 August 1948, Page 3

Active Campaign To Control Wasp Menace Has Commenced

Residents in the Waikato and adjacent areas will be pleased to learn that an active campaign has commenced in a determined effort to control the spread of wasps. Experience gained over the last three years has shown that wasps of the species Vespa germanica are going to be difficult to control because of their, nesting habits and our favourable climate.

The normal time of activity of these wasps extends over a much longer period than in European countries where they are established. Cr C. R. Paterson, Apiary Instructor of the Department of Agriculture, Hamilton, has been appointed supervisor of the Dominion Campaign with headquarters in Hamilton, and Mr B. Devine has been appointed to assist him. Control measures will be divided into three groups as follows: 1. Experimental work by officers of Wallaceville Animal Research Station and Plant Diseases Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Auckland. 2. Intensive publicity to acquaint the general public with the l ' best methods of dealing with these wasps. 3. A bounty of 3d (threepence) will be paid for each queen wasp delivered or posted to the Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 373, Hamilton. The bounty will be paid on all queens up to the end of December of this year only. Supplies of powder will be available at a later date for the destruction of any nests that may become established. Part-time men will be employed to deal with nests that cannot be dealt with by the property owner. The success of this campaign will depend on the activity of the public in destroying all queen wasps, and searching for established nests which will show up early in the new year. ! The following clues will help children in locating queens at the present time:— Look under cow covers or sacks hanging on fences; coats hanging up ih sheds; under loose bark or decaying logs; under roofs of sheds. Remember 3d each will be paid for queens up to the end of December. A queen destroyed now is an active nest less next season. • Method of Catching: Queens can be picked up in a piece of cloth and quickly dropped in a tin or jar in which a small amount of D.D.T. powder or methylated spirits has been placed. Queens must not be kept too long before claiming bounty.