By ANEEKA SIMONIS
Colonies of wasps swarm backyards, terrifying residents who are under…
TERRIFIED residents have become prisoners in their own homes as colonies of wasps swarm backyards and outside spaces across Cardinia Shire.
Pakenham mum of two Donna Monckton has three nests on her property which has deemed her front yard a no-go zone for her three-year-old and his 14-month-old brother.
“We can’t play out that side of our property.
“They hang around the bins and plants in our garden. I can’t set up the water boat for the kids as wasps fly around it and get in the water. It’s terrible,” she said.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood is keen to wage a war against wasps in south-east Victoria, having sought $1.5 million in federal funding towards a biological solution to limit the pests.
His research proposal to find ways to exterminate European wasps nests have been backed by dozens of Cardinia Shire residents including Sarah Measures from Officer terrified of the lethal threat wasps stings create for herself and her unborn child.
“I haven’t been stung, but anaphylaxis can be fatal for me. I always have an EpiPen with me,” the mum said.
“I have an 11-month-old daughter and am also five months pregnant, so using an EpiPen wouldn’t be very safe for the baby if I did have to use it.”
Cardinia Shire Council’s Environmental Health manager Sean La Fontaine said reports of wasps in the area had skyrocketed in the past few months.
“Council received eight requests relating to European wasps in 2014, mostly during the warmer months. In comparison, we have already responded to 95 requests regarding European wasps in 2015,” he said.
Mr Wood’s appeal came after a bout of concerns within his electorate alongside a report by the ABC earlier this month which revealed Victoria was experiencing its highest rate of wasp activity in 15 to 20 years.
“Like everyone, you accept that wasps are around, but I noticed them more this year. They’re absolutely everywhere,” Mr Wood said.
“That was my first-hand observation, then I put something on my Facebook page and we had over 100 comments on it.
Pest technician Simon Warde from Dandenong Pest Control in Beaconsfield said the wasp boom happened speedily.
“I would personally do about two wasp jobs a day. As a company, we’d go to between eight to 10 callouts,” he said.
“It hasn’t been a slow increase (in wasp populations), it’s really just hit this year.”
Mr Warde suspects the change in seasons may have contributed to the larger numbers of the pest terrorising residents.
“Normally, if we get a really cold snap, queens will die out, but it seems we didn’t get a real cold winter so a lot survived,” he said.
He advised residents to stay well away from wasp nests which can be home to up to 100,000 pests.
“If you agitate them, they can release a pheromone and another wasp uses the scent as a tracking device, so it will follow you. You can be in a lot trouble,” Mr Warde said.
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