Why European wasps have not established in WA, and what to do if you see one
The European wasp is firmly established in the Sydney area and was known in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales by 1978.
Western Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has prevented a permanent population since 1977. The advice changes at the border.
Lines are drawn from the places each source names; the regulator’s map is the boundary.
The line, and why it holds
Western Australia has been free of an established European wasp population since 1977.
The pressure never stops. Fertilised queens reach WA every year in freight and cargo, mostly out of the eastern states, where the wasp is well established.
The record so far: every detected incursion eradicated since 1977, and 1,765 colonies destroyed to 2026.
In DPIRD’s assessment, Western Australia is the only place in the world inside the wasps’ range to have kept them from establishing for so long.
Spotting wasp activity early is critical to stopping the wasps establishing in WA.
Source: DPIRD WA, European wasp.
On the WA side: watch, trap, report
The European wasp has distinct behaviours that make it easy to identify in WA. The features to look for:
- wasps flying in and out of one hole in the ground, with most nests, around 90 per cent, hidden underground;
- wasps flying with raised legs, where every other wasp and bee lets its legs dangle in flight;
- black antennae, where the similar-looking paper wasps have orange-yellow ones.
Timing matters. Queens spread in autumn, hibernate over winter and start new nests in spring; activity peaks over summer; and the easiest months to spot them are December to May.
That is the season for Adopt-a-trap, a program the department runs for community members, industrial-area businesses and local governments, from around December to the end of May.
A trapped wasp is a pointer: it usually means a nest within about 200 metres, and the find helps the department detect and destroy that nest.
The department keeps more than 3,000 traps running across metropolitan Perth and regional WA each season from November to April.
Most nests it has found, 95 per cent, were in metropolitan Perth, with hot spots in the industrial suburbs of Welshpool, Wangara, Malaga, Kewdale, Canning Vale and Bibra Lake.
The report line is DPIRD’s own: suspected European wasp detections go to PaDIS (the Pest and Disease Information Service) on +08 9368 3080, by email to padis@dpird.wa.gov.au, or through the MyPestGuide Reporter app.
Source: DPIRD WA, European wasp.
On the eastern side: leave it, or have it removed
For a wasp you meet, the first rule from Victoria’s Better Health Channel is to leave it alone, because it will only attack if provoked.
For a nest, the Better Health Channel strongly recommends hiring a licensed pest control operator to deal with the wasp nests on your property.
The ACT government treats wasp nests on its own land, and does not treat nests on private land, where a nest is the owner’s responsibility.
The ACT’s advice for that private nest: a qualified pest control operator should remove it, and no attempt should be made to treat it, because of the sting risk.
Reported nests on ACT government land are investigated and controlled within 5 to 10 business days, with priority when the nest’s location is known.
The Australian Museum describes the wasp as stout, its abdomen banded bright yellow and black, with black spots on each yellow band.
Source: Better Health Channel, European wasp; ACT Government, wasps; Australian Museum, European wasp.
The same wasp, three different procedures
Three governments, three procedures:
| The question | Western Australia | Victoria | The Australian Capital Territory |
|---|---|---|---|
| The wasp’s status | Not established: a permanent population has been prevented since 1977 | Known in Victoria by 1978; first found in Australia in Tasmania, in 1959 | Treated as a pest to report on government land |
| A nest you find | Report it: trapping and tracking locate and destroy nests | Have it destroyed by a licensed pest control operator | On government land, report it; on private land it is yours to have removed, by a qualified operator |
| Who to call | PaDIS on +08 9368 3080, by email, or the MyPestGuide Reporter app | For sting advice, the poisons line is 13 11 26 | Report the nest or sighting with the ACT’s online form, or Access Canberra on 13 22 81 |
Current surveillance runs from trap checks and wasp tracking to nest location and destruction, public awareness and community trapping programs.
Source: DPIRD WA, European wasp; Australian Museum, European wasp; ACT Government, wasps; Better Health Channel, European wasp; Better Health Channel, bites and stings first aid.
If you are stung
Victoria’s guidance after a bite or a sting: call the Victorian Poisons Information Centre, Tel. 13 11 26.
The WA department points the same way: healthdirect, or the Poisons Information Centre, 13 11 26.
The national healthdirect helpline, on 1800 022 222, is answered by a registered nurse at any hour; its bee and wasp stings page has the treatment steps.
Source: Better Health Channel, bites and stings first aid; DPIRD WA, European wasp; healthdirect, bee and wasp stings.
Who may be paid to treat a home
In Western Australia, a person must not carry on a pest management business unless they do so under a business registration, made under the Health (Pesticides) Regulations 2011.
Source: WA legislation, Health (Pesticides) Regulations 2011.