Huge wasp nest discovered near Rotorua taking days to eradicate

ROTORUA: A Rotorua exterminator is battling through the biggest job of his career as he destroys a giant German wasp nest estimated to hold up to 1 million wasps.

The nest discovered on Monday was attached to a ponga tree in an area of native bush at Hamurana near Rotorua.

Chris Brunel, from Bay Pest Services, has had the mammoth job of destroying the nest. It is about 3m up in a ponga tree on the side of a steep bank.

At 2m tall with a circumference of about 2m, it is estimated to weigh between 100kg and 150kg.

Mr Brunel said it would have taken about three years to build the nest.

‘‘I’d say the queen or queens have never left that nest.’’

He said a nest so big typically took on a life of its own.

‘‘They almost become an independent city and it gets very warm in there so they can survive against cold temperatures . . . they can get up to about one million wasps and the temperature in there can get up to 25degC to 30degC in amongst the nest itself because it is quite deep.’’

While the German wasps tend to like living in big nests, this one at Hamurana is near record size.

‘‘They seem to like ponga trees because they can build around them quite easily and hollow out the actual timber so the nest can get a grip on the tree so it doesn’t fall apart, plus it is very well sheltered.’’

Mr Brunel said it was one of the hardest jobs his company had faced due to the size of the nest and its location.

The nest was initially dusted with an insecticide to kill as many wasps as they could.

‘‘The second time around we tried to get into the entry points where the wasps are getting in, the third time we cut a section off and dusted that.’’

The work may be affected by rain over the weekend but it seems likely they will finish the job on Monday. — RNZ