Found a nest? Stay back
Don't poke, spray or block it. Move children and pets inside. If someone stung has a swollen throat or tongue, noisy breathing, a wheeze or a change in their voice, or collapses, call 000 straight away.
What Playford says
Wasps reached the council chamber
A question put to the City of Playford in February 2024 reported numerous sightings of European wasps across the city over the Christmas and New Year break.
Private property
The answer was plain: on private property, the landowner or occupier engages a pest controller.
Parks, streets and reserves
Report it to the council. City Operations attend and locate the nest, and where wasps are a risk to community safety, pest controllers are brought in for some of them.
Don't feed them
In the unlikely event wasps are being encouraged to nest on a property, Playford says it may take enforcement action under the Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act. Covering pet food, tight bin lids and picking up fruit all help.
A planned town from 1955
The South Australian Housing Trust developed Elizabeth from 1955 on farmland north of Adelaide, so homes here can be decades old. We don't know how any one house was framed, and neither will a termite inspector until they've looked, so start by finding out what's there.
An older home has had time for sheds, pergolas and extensions to be added, and those joins are worth asking about. Damaged wood and mud tubes are the signs that matter, and they're best left alone until the inspector arrives. Read more on termites in Adelaide.
Is it even a European wasp?
The City of Adelaide says mud wasps are bigger than European wasps but seldom sting, and paper wasps sting only when their nest feels threatened. European wasps can sting more than once and can nest in the ground, in cavities and in ceilings, so a hole in the lawn with steady traffic deserves caution. Our guide to wasp nests in Adelaide has more on telling them apart.
Renting in Elizabeth?
Playford's wording covers the occupier as well as the owner, so tell your landlord or agent as soon as you spot a nest. We haven't been able to confirm South Australia's rental rules on who pays, so check your lease and ask.
What we'd do in Elizabeth
Work out whose land the nest is on, and keep everyone clear of it. If it's a public place, tell the council. If it's your block, tell us what you've seen and your postcode.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
