Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008

Merced Sun-Star Tip List: Homeowners hope someone can take care of wasp nests plaguing their neighborhood

ATWATER -- When I was a kid growing up on a cul-de-sac in Visalia, I created a business venture that both protected my neighborhood and padded my pockets.

That business?

Killing wasps (or wasp-busting, as I called it in those days). I would go door-to-door with my brother-in-arms Matt and offer to remove wasp nests with a stunning display of swordsmanship and swiftness, using whatever blunt objects we could find in the garage. All this was available for the affordable price of $5.

So when tipster Julia Mercado called last week saying her neighborhood was overwhelmed with those buzzing, stinging insects, I was struck with childhood memories.

I was ready to dust off the old football helmet, unsheathe the baseball bat and restring the tennis racket -- it was go time. But after a scouting mission to the Las Casas housing development in Atwater, it was clear that this job would require a more professional approach.

Five foreclosed homes at the end of El Rodebaugh Street serve as a breeding ground for wasps that zigzag over the entire neighborhood. One of those abandoned properties at 2021 Oak Grove Way has six visible nests along the fence in the backyard.

Randy Fagundes of Fagundes Custom Yard Care was on the scene cleaning up the abandoned home for sale. He says the source of the insect problem is simple: "I think this is a foreclosure problem. I've never seen anything like this. But then again, I've never seen so many foreclosures."

Unfortunately, it appears that the foreclosure problem has become Mercado's problem and the problem of everybody else in the neighborhood.

Mercado says the wasps dictate when they mow their lawns, when they can take a dip in their swimming pool and what times they let their daughter play outside.

"We go through a can of wasp spray every day. It's an epidemic," she shrugged.

Ron Williams, head of the pest department at Clark Pest Control in Merced, said the pests are probably paper wasps.

"The worst part is that there is no trap or repellent for paper wasps," Williams says. "It's just a matter of killing the nest or removing it."

So whose job is it to take care of these nests?

Mercado said she tried calling the city and was referred to animal control who told her there was nothing they could do.

But Mayor Joan Faul heard her cries and says she's on the case.

"I wish it was an easy problem to solve, but it's not," says Faul, who has contacted everybody from the Department of Agriculture to the Merced County Mosquito Abatement District. "We have been out there and visited a number of homes. We are definitely working on it."

But she admits that right now she's not sure what the solution is and is open to any ideas. She says she'd like to see the UC do a study to find out why this neighborhood has been targeted by the wasps.

At least one man who's been proactive in dealing with the pests is London Properties Realtor Don Scorby.

Scorby, who's trying to get one of the foreclosed homes ready for sale, has gone out twice in the past week to spray the nests that litter the property.

"I feel like I am representing the bank and I should take care of it," Scorby says. "You can't show a home when there's wasps."

But will the banks or real estate agents at the other homes step up? Alan Inman, manager of the Merced County Mosquito Abatement District says the problem is the same as the mosquitoes in pools of foreclosed homes, where the county has received varying degrees of cooperation.

Maybe the answer is in the economy. When those homes hit the market, the wasp problem will have to be addressed.

But will the neighbors be willing to wait? If not, who ya gonna call? Wasp-busters! Count me in.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? Wasp nesting in foreclosed homes taking over entire neighborhood in Atwater.

WHAT'S BEING DONE: The mayor is looking for solutions, and at least one Realtor is spraying a house.

WHO'S INVOLVED: Mayor Joan Faul, (209) 357-6300

Tip off the tip list!

If you see something broken or in need of repair in your neighborhood, call the Sun-Star Tip List reporter, Tom Price, with your tips at (209) 385-2482 or e-mail tprice@mercedsun-star.com.