Pest Management Association of New Zealand executive councillor Vicki Smith said her company had responded to a lot more callouts for wasp management in Dunedin.
"This year they have been worse than they have been for a few years."
Pest Specialists had easily been dealing with at least one wasp-related call out a day for the past month, she said.
It was sometimes difficult for exterminators to find the nests as they had to follow a wasp’s flight path.
Ms Smith said the wasps were about to go into hibernation for winter and were about to switch their diets from sweet to savoury.
"The wasps just about now start changing from sugar to protein because they’re wanting to bulk themselves up."
If people were planning on exterminating wasps themselves, they needed to be careful because they were very active during the day.
It was best to treat them in the evening and attract them using cat food, Ms Smith said.
The Dunedin City Council said it was aware of some wasp-related issues and its contractors were working hard to remove nests and control the pests. Any wasp nests on council-owned land should be reported.
mark,john@odt.co.nz
