What does it look like?
Common wasps look and behave like German wasps. In both species, colony members work together to care for their young and to build and defend the nest.
They have distinctive yellow‑and‑black striped bodies, hold their legs close to their body in flight, and can sting repeatedly. Common wasps build large, reddish‑brown paper nests, often around the size of a soccer ball. If a nest survives over winter, the colony can grow extremely large.
While most social wasp colonies die off over winter, it’s estimated that around 10 percent of German wasp nests survive. These surviving nests can expand rapidly, reaching very large numbers by the end of their second autumn.
Why is it a problem?
New Zealand has some of the highest densities of common and German wasps in the world. This is largely because their natural predators are absent, food sources are abundant, and winters are relatively mild.
Wasps consume large numbers of native insects and have been observed killing newly hatched birds, disrupting natural food webs. High densities are often found in beech forests, where wasps feed on honeydew, which is an important food source for native birds, bats, insects and lizards.
Common wasps also pose a risk to people, particularly those working outdoors or anyone who is allergic to wasp stings.
Control methods
The best way to reduce a local wasp population is to find and destroy all the nests in the area. If a nest is small and you are not allergic to stings, then you can do it yourself. If the nest is large, contact a professional pest controller.
If you suspect or find that you have multiple wasp nests, contact a specialist pest management firm. It’s important to be aware that accidental contact or proximity with the nest will signal a threat to these wasps – they can sting you many times.
To find and destroy common wasps, start by tracking the insects to their nest. These are usually within 200 metres of where the wasps are foraging, and can be on a building, tree, or a hole in the ground.
If you buy an insecticide from a local garden or hardware store, follow the instructions and place the insecticide at all entrances to the nest. It's safer to do this when the weather is fine and at night when there are fewer wasps around. Worker wasps will spread the powder into the nest, and the colony usually dies within a day. If the nest is still active after a few days, then repeat the procedure the next fine evening.
If you can't find the wasps' nest then build a trap to catch them. All you need is a plastic bottle, water, sugar, and vinegar. There are many options for making your own wasp traps, but the NoPests' Wasp Dome Trap is an effective commercial product. As most wasp queens start building a new nest each year after their winter hibernation, early spring is the time to trap queens and stop them building new nests.
More information
If you find a wasp nest on regional council, DOC, or other territorial authority land that poses a risk to public safety, please notify the relevant authority so it can be managed appropriately.
We do not carry out wasp control unless a nest presents a public safety risk in a high‑use area. Wasp nests on private land are the responsibility of the land occupier.
Related links
Management Programme
Organism of Interest (OOI)
Organisms Of Interest (OOI) are those specified as pests under our Regional Pest Management Plan that are capable of causing significant adverse effects on one or several of our Regional values. These species warrant being watch-listed for ongoing surveillance or future control opportunities.
More informationUnwanted Organism
An unwanted organism is any organism that's capable of causing harm to natural or physical resources (like forests and waterways) or human health. A number of introduced pests in New Zealand are classed as unwanted.
More informationTaxonomies
FamilyVespidae
TypeInsects
GroupWasp
HabitatLand
Management ProgrammeOrganism of Interest (OOI)Unwanted Organism
