RADIO NZ COLD CALL PEST CONTROLLER
ACES on Radio NZ
Listen on Radio NZ web site
Listen on ACES pest control site
For a while now we've run a segment called Jesse's Cold Call where Jesse picks up the phone, dials an organisation at random, and hopes to find someone to have a yarn with.
He's called all the information centres around the country and some iwi radio stations. So, given all the chat about hornets, we thought today we'd try our luck with a pest controller.
Radio NZ Afternoons – Jesse Mulligan Cold Call
Transcript: Pest Control Auckland (ACES Pest Control)
Jesse:
From the show, we like to call someone at random and have a quick chat. We call it Jesse’s Cold Call. They don’t know I’m calling, and I don’t know who’s going to pick up. We’ve called information centres, Citizens Advice Bureaus, iwi radio stations… today we’re trying a pest controller in Auckland.
Owen, Jesse Mulligan calling from Radio New Zealand. How’s it going?
Owen:
Good, good Jesse. How can I help?
Jesse:
Every Monday I cold call someone interesting for a couple of minutes. Have you got a few minutes to talk?
Owen:
I certainly do.
Jesse:
Great. I’m fascinated by your job in pest control. Are you dealing with any pests today?
Owen:
Yes — I’m heading to a large facility to help them with ants. They’ve got ants coming into their kitchen, so we need to sort that out.
Jesse:
Oh my gosh. What’s the process for that?
Owen:
For ants, we use a slow-acting product that transfers between ants over several days. We apply it outside, the ants take it back to the nest, and it destroys the colony. The good thing is there are no chemicals applied indoors, so people aren’t affected.
Jesse:
Is there a pest you dread when you’re driving to a job?
Owen:
German wasp nests — the large ones. When I’m destroying a big German wasp nest, it genuinely feels like they want to kill me. They’re angry, fast, and in big numbers they can kill people. So I’m always cautious.
But on the flip side… it’s exciting. There’s a bit of skin in the game.
Jesse:
You still get a buzz?
Owen:
Yeah. When you control them cleanly with no issues, it’s a job well done.
Jesse:
What’s the biggest wasp nest you’ve ever seen?
Owen:
A chap rang me saying, “The wasps are eating my house.”
He lived in Kaukapakapa in an unpainted wooden home, and wasps were landing on the boards and chewing the wood to make pulp for their nest.
I told him to follow the flight path of the wasps. Honestly, I thought he might be a bit crazy. But three days later he called back saying he’d found the nest — down a gully and up in a tree.
We went there and sure enough, the nest was the size of a small van. The biggest I’ve seen.
And yes — they had literally used the weatherboards of his house to build it.
Jesse:
Oh my gosh — a house swap!
You’re based in Auckland — have you noticed any changes in pest populations over time?
Owen:
Definitely. I’ve been doing pest control in Auckland for 16 years. In the beginning, everything was seasonal — spring was spring, summer was summer.
Now, with climate change, things are all over the place.
A good example is ants. They produce winged reproductives in spring when temperatures rise. But now temperatures rise any time of year — even winter. I sometimes see queen ants flying in the middle of winter. They get confused because pests are temperature-based, and fluctuating weather throws them off.
Jesse:
When I first moved to Auckland I had pantry moths — they drove me mad. But it’s been ages. Any change there?
Owen:
Pantry moths aren’t climate-related. They come from contaminated food products. If you buy something with moth eggs in it, you get pantry moths. They’re hard to get rid of.
Jesse:
Yeah, they hide in tiny holes in cupboards.
Owen:
Exactly — the larvae cocooning and turning into moths.
Jesse:
Anything make you squeamish?
Owen:
Not really. But really big spiders can give me a shock. I once saw a wolf spider the size of a hand under a house. It turned around, looked at me as if to say “who are you?” and carried on. I didn’t want to stay under there with it.
Jesse:
Are Avondale spiders a thing?
Owen:
Yes. The Avondale spider is the Huntsman — an Australian species that arrived in landscape supplies years ago. But they struggle here because New Zealand isn’t hot enough. I only see small ones and they’re docile and sickly compared to Australian Huntsmen.
Jesse:
Someone told me snakes wouldn’t survive here either.
Owen:
Probably true. Australia has lots of poisonous animals because it’s extremely hot and harsh.
Jesse:
We’re coming into fly season. Do you get lots of calls?
Owen:
Yes. December is usually big for flies. We get a lot of calls, especially from existing customers.
Jesse:
How do you control flies?
Owen:
I tend to under-promise, because Kiwis love indoor-outdoor flow. We’re not a fly-screen country.
In Australia everyone has screens because the flies are bigger and some bite. But in New Zealand, people leave all the doors open.
Treatments reduce flies significantly, but you can’t stop them flying in if everything’s open.
Jesse:
Flies bite in Australia?
Owen:
Some do. Flies are part of the order Diptera — household flies are only a tiny fraction of the species. Many are predatory and feed on other insects. Some are beautiful and look like wasps. People often mistake them.
Jesse:
I’m getting the sense this is more of a calling for you.
Owen:
Probably. I relate better to bugs than people.
I have a degree in entomology from Victoria University.
Jesse:
Did you know what you wanted to do back then?
Owen:
I was idealistic. I followed my interests. I applied for a job at Rentokil in 1990 because I wanted to work with bugs, but they only hired experienced applicants.
Jesse:
Ever get calls where someone wants you to kill something that’s actually native?
Owen:
Yes — especially wētā. They’re protected.
I explain that if they remove rotting wood or debris, the wētā will move on naturally. You have to draw the line with endemic species.
Jesse:
I’ve avoided asking about rats — they give me the heebie-jeebies. Maybe another time.
Thanks for the work you’re doing in Auckland. Good luck with the ants today.
Owen:
Thank you so much. Have a great day.