FREE D.D.T. POWDER FOR USE AGAINST WASPS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 47, 28 January 1949, Page 5

FREE D.D.T. POWDER FOR USE AGAINST WASPS

The alarming increase of wasps in New Zealand has now reached a stage where the Department of Agriculture has found them spreading faster than it is possible to keep up with. From the Waikato, they have spread in a few short years to adjoining districts, and last year, first made their appearance in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Today they have established themselves round Whakatane and now exist in large numbers at Ohope. Big nests have been found’and unless something is done soon they may become an. expensive pest to destroy. To assist in the fight, the Whakatane County Council has received from the Department of Agrciulture at Hamilton, a supply of two ounce tins of 10 per cent D.D.T powder, to be issued free of charge to anyone who requires them, solely for the destruction of wasps. Difficult To Find Wasp nests are difficult to find. They are built in the ground and the only sign of them is a small hole, out of which the insect comes and goes. One of the best methods of introducing the powder to the nest is to put it in a rubber tube, then place the end of the tube in the hole. By blowing through the tube the powder can be blown right into the nest. The spread of wasps is causing increased concern to interested authorities at Whakatane. It is impossible to employ men to hunt out nests because of the difficulty of finding them. The only way they can be halted is by everyone watch ing for them and then using the free D.D.T. powder. Wasps are a nuisance round the house, to farmers and fruitgrowers, and unless stopped will soon become as common as the white butterfly.