It is a warm afternoon, you slide open the balcony door, and a steady stream of wasps is going in and out of a nest in the eaves. Or you hear scratching in the kitchen wall at night. The Dutch question is always the same two-parter: who do I call, and who pays? Both answers, and the report itself, come in Dutch.
First: who pays?
This is the part expats get wrong most often, so settle it before you spend money.
The gemeente has a limited role. As pest-control information point Meldpunt Ongedierte explains, the municipality generally only removes nests and vermin in public spaces, or where there is significant overlast (nuisance) or danger to public health. In many municipalities that public-space removal is free. A nest on your own balcony is usually not their job.
In a rental, Dutch law splits the bill by size of problem, as tenancy lawyers summarise:
| Problem | Who usually pays |
|---|---|
| Wasps, ants, fleas (small, incidental) | Tenant (minor upkeep) |
| Building-wide mice or cockroach plague | Landlord (structural) |
| Rats linked to the building structure | Landlord |
| Pests caused by another of the landlord’s tenants | Landlord must help |
So a single wasp nest on your balcony is typically yours; a rat problem running through the whole block is the landlord’s. A private wasp-nest removal costs roughly 50 to 250 euros depending on how awkward the nest is to reach.
Reporting it: the vocabulary
Whether you call the gemeente, the landlord, or a private ongediertebestrijder (pest controller), be specific about the animal and the place. The core words:
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| ongedierte | vermin / pests |
| wespennest | wasp nest |
| muizen | mice |
| ratten | rats |
| overlast | nuisance |
| bestrijding | control / extermination |
| melding | a report |
Ready-to-use lines:
- “Er zit een wespennest op mijn balkon.” (There is a wasp nest on my balcony.)
- “Ik heb muizen in de keuken.” (I have mice in the kitchen.)
- “Er lopen ratten in de tuin, dit geeft veel overlast.” (There are rats in the garden, this is causing a lot of nuisance.)
- “Kan de gemeente dit bestrijden, of is dit voor de verhuurder?” (Can the municipality deal with this, or is it for the landlord?)
Many municipalities take these through an online melding form, the same channel covered in our guide to using the gemeente app to report trash or noise. For a health risk, your regional GGD public health service can also advise.
Mice, rats, and the indoor version
Wasps are seasonal; rodents are year-round. The indoor playbook, and the urgent phrasing for getting a pest controller out fast, is in our companion piece on ordering Dutch pest control for mice in the kitchen. The same calm, specific register applies, and the same who-pays logic: incidental is yours, structural is the landlord’s.
Put it in writing
One practical tip that saves money: if you rent and the problem might be structural, report it to the landlord in writing (email or message), not just by phone. That creates a record that you flagged it, which matters if it turns out to be their cost. This is the same neighbourly, on-the-record approach we recommend when you need to politely warn neighbours about noise: clear, factual, documented.
The bottom line
Pests in the Netherlands come down to who pays and a clear report. The gemeente mostly handles public-space nests and danger, often free; inside a rental, small pests (wasps, ants, fleas) are usually yours, while structural plagues (rats, building-wide mice) are the landlord’s. A private wasp removal is about 50 to 250 euros. File a specific melding, name the ongedierte and the place, use overlast and bestrijding, and put structural problems to your landlord in writing.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that teaches the practical household-emergency Dutch you need to report pests, the animal, the place, and the nuisance by real situation in five-minute lessons, so you can file a clear melding with the gemeente or your landlord instead of fumbling for words during an infestation.
Frequently asked questions
Who removes a wasp nest in the Netherlands, the gemeente or me?
It depends where it is. The gemeente generally only removes nests in public spaces, or when there is significant nuisance or danger, and in many municipalities that is free. A nest on your own balcony or in your rental is usually your responsibility (or your landlord’s). A private pest controller charges roughly 50 to 250 euros for a wasp nest, depending on how hard it is to reach.
In a Dutch rental, does the tenant or landlord pay for pest control?
As a rule, small pests count as minor upkeep the tenant pays for: wasps, ants, fleas. Structural problems are the landlord’s: a building-wide mouse or cockroach plague, or rats tied to the building’s structure. If the infestation is clearly structural or caused by another of the landlord’s tenants, the landlord must help. Report it in writing so there is a record.
How do I report a pest problem to the gemeente in Dutch?
Be specific about the animal and the place. Useful lines: ‘Er zit een wespennest op mijn balkon’ (There is a wasp nest on my balcony), ‘Ik heb muizen in de keuken’ (I have mice in the kitchen), or ‘Er lopen ratten in de tuin’ (There are rats in the garden). Many municipalities take reports through a melding (report) form online. Words to know: ongedierte (vermin), overlast (nuisance), bestrijding (control).
What is the best app to learn Dutch for household emergencies and pests?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it teaches the practical household-emergency Dutch you need to report pests, name the animal, the place, and the nuisance, in five-minute lessons, so you can file a clear melding with the gemeente or your landlord instead of fumbling for words during an infestation.
