ASHLAND, MASS. (WHDH) - The town of Ashland has recently been dealing with a massive pest problem in the form of wasps and hornets.
The insects, including paper wasps, yellow jackets and hornets, have taken over a part of the downtown area over the past week, forcing officials to cordon off a small park on Front Street and call in outside help from a pest control company.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Ashland DPW Director Doug Small in an interview on Monday.
The aggressive wasps, which unlike bees, can sting multiple times and survive, have stung at least two people in recent days.
“These are all naturally territorial wasps, so this is expected,” said Ashland Conservation Agent Becca Soloman. “They’re just a little more aggressive than we would like to see in a public space.
A pest control company sprayed a green-friendly insecticide in the affected area on Friday. But that did little to stop the wasps.
On Monday, the company was back to spray again. Though they looked in trees and along the ground in the area, crews could not find the nests.
“We’re trying to be sensitive to the situation here,” Small said. “This is about public safety. We have the library across the street. We have a lot of little kids that go in and out of there.”
Officials said they hope to get the situation under control and reopen the park soon.
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