DIY in the war against wasps
Is it a vespula wasp (German or common) or a paper wasp? Find out the difference here.
Once you know which type of wasp to target, the next step is to use the correct control method.
- For paper wasps, there are commercially available sprays at hardware stores around the country. The important things to note are not to get too close (these sprays can go up to four metres), and to do it at dusk once the wasps have returned to their nests. If you are unsure where the nests are, you can usually follow the wasp to it, as they don't travel too far away.
- Vespex is a protein-based bait which is suitable for use on the vespula wasp species. This is usually done at landscape scale as a small tub of bait can cover a large area. You don't need to find the nests as the wasps carry the bait home with them. Vespex is not at all attractive to bees. If there is a problem in your area you can learn all about the use of vespex here. You will need to be an approved user - a short 10-minute video course is all that is required. Vespex is not suitable for paper wasps as they prefer live bait. You can also contribute to our fight against wasps here: givealittle.co.nz...
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
Poll: Would you help your kids out with buying a home?
OPINION: Over the past year, I’ve had the same conversation with many Waikato families again and again.
A child has found a house. The market feels like it’s moving. There’s pressure to act quickly. And before anyone has really had time to think it through, parents are being asked to step in with cash, guarantees, or equity from their own home.
Would you help your kids out with buying a home? Tell us more in the comments (adding NFP if you don't want your words used in print).
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14.3% I already have.
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71.4% Yes.
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14.3% No
Poll: What do you think of the new police move-on powers?
Central Hamilton businesses are welcoming police being given new powers to move on vagrants, with a city retail advocate saying the previous hands-off approach wasn’t working.
On Sunday the Government announced it would grant police powers to order any individual rough sleeping, begging, or displaying disorderly behaviour to move on.
What do you think of the new police move-on powers? Tell us more in the comments (adding NFP if you don't want your words used in print).
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100% They're needed
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0% They won't change much
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0% I'll wait and see
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