Smoke-bombs for wasp nests

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33213, 1 May 1973, Page 2

Smoke-bombs for wasp nests

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 30. A smoke-bomb of benzene-hexachloride was the most efficient way of destroying wasps, a spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture said today.

He was commenting on a statement by the principal of the wasp-plagued Haupiri School, on the West Coast. Mr B. R. Pearson, that some areas of New Zealand could become uninhabitable unless better extermination methods were devised. The D.S.I.R. and the Ministry of Agriculture had been trying for years to deal with wasps in inaccessible places by using poison baits, but so far they had not met with much success, the spokesman said.

When using poison it was necessary to be very’ careful because other beneficial insect life, birds, animals, and humans could be affected, he said.

At present the Ministry of Agriculture was trying to develop a wasp that would attract othet wasps and carry poison bait back to the nest. The Haupiri School, however, was not the only place to be visited by wasps in recent years. "Other areas of New Zealand have had severe infestation,” the spokesman said.

He added that school hygiene was important, and

ithat rubbish bins containing school lunches should not be left uncovered. A spokesman for a WelI lington-based pest control ;service said his company !used dieldrin 25 to destroy | wasps.