Pest Control

Quest Giver:

• Alliance: Duane — 7th Legion Front, northern Dragon Wastes (~64, 28)
• Horde: Kontokanis — Dragon’s Fall, northern Dragon Wastes

Turn In: Same as quest giver.

Objective: Kill 10 Snowplain Snobolds and 3 Dragonblight Magnataur at the magnataur camps surrounding Wyrmrest.

Quick Facts

• Level: 73
• Follow-Up: Canyon Chase (Alliance)/Canyon Chase (Horde) — tracking down the snobold leader Chilltusk
• Series: Pest Control → Canyon Chase → feeds into the Wyrmrest magnataur chain via Disturbing Implications

Walkthrough

What Counts

• Snowplain Snobolds (10 needed): Any of the three variants count toward the objective: Snowplain Disciple, Snowplain Shaman, and Snowplain Zealot.
• Dragonblight Magnataur (3 needed): Any variant counts: Magnataur Alpha, Magnataur Patriarch, and Magnataur Youngling. The younglings are easiest to kill and count the same.

Camp Locations The snobolds and magnataur gather at distinctive camps marked by large rock mounds with magnataur altars and visible torches. There are six main camps scattered across the Dragon Wastes, and you only need 3 magnataur, so you will likely finish this quest in one or two camps. Recommended spots:

• [64, 43] and [64, 50] — Closest camps to the 7th Legion Front. Good mix of snobolds and magnataur. Start here.
• [55, 40] and [55, 50] — Western camps, closer to Dragon’s Fall (Horde players start here).
• [56, 57] and [64, 62] — Southern camps near the Ruby Dragonshrine. Useful if northern camps are busy.

Kill the snobolds first. You only need 3 magnataur but 10 snobolds, and there are fewer snobolds per camp. Snobold respawns can take around 5 minutes at some camps, so if you clear one camp and still need snobolds, move to the next rather than waiting. The magnataur will take care of themselves as you move between camps.

Efficiency Tips

• Do Alongside: If you have quests to kill Reanimated Frost Wyrms (using Seeds of Nature’s Wrath), keep an eye on the skies while farming snobold camps. Frost wyrms patrol the same area.
• Chain Awareness: After turning in Pest Control, immediately pick up Canyon Chase. This follow-up sends you to track down Chilltusk, the magnataur behind the snobold raids on your camp. During Canyon Chase, the magnataur you kill drops an Emblazoned Battle Horn that starts Disturbing Implications, which sends you to Wyrmrest Temple and opens up the full magnataur chain: One of a Kind → Mighty Magnataur → Reclusive Runemaster → Wanton Warlord. Don’t skip the horn pickup.
• Difficulty: These are standard non-elite mobs at level 72-73. No special mechanics, no group needed. AoE classes can pull snobolds in clusters for fast clears.

Lore & Secrets

Magnataur and Their “Little Slaves”

• Magnataur are massive creatures with the upper body of a tusked giant fused to the lower body of a woolly mammoth. They stand 20-30 feet tall and weigh 15-20 tons. Despite their size, they are intelligent enough to form crude kingdoms, though their legendary impatience means these never last long. They are a dying race, having lost as much territory to the Scourge as anyone else on Northrend.
• Snobolds are the arctic cousins of kobolds. Where kobolds carry candles on their heads, snobolds carry receptacles filled with bloodspore flowers. They serve the magnataur in a symbiotic relationship: the snobolds act as caretakers and servants, and in return, the magnataur provide protection. The quest text calls them “slaves hiding under the skirts” of the magnataur, which is not far off, though the relationship is more mutual than that framing suggests. Snobolds are also more nomadic than their underground-dwelling kobold relatives.
• The magnataur’s origins are one of Azeroth’s genuinely fascinating mysteries. Brann Bronzebeard claims to have gotten confirmation from Cenarius himself that magnataur share common ancestry with centaur and even the keepers of the grove. If true, it means these savage mammoth-giants and the graceful forest demigods are distant relatives, a connection neither side would likely appreciate.

Why the Wyrmrest Accord Cares

The quest text explains that snobolds have been raiding your faction’s camp whenever frost wyrm attacks distract the soldiers.

But the bigger picture emerges through the follow-up chain: a magnataur named Grom’thar the Thunderbringer has done something historically unprecedented by uniting multiple magnataur clans in the Dragonblight under his banner.

The Emblazoned Battle Horn you find on Chilltusk during Canyon Chase confirms this organized mobilization, which is alarming because magnataur working together are a catastrophic threat. The Wyrmrest Accord takes interest because an organized magnataur army attacking settlements near the Temple would be a disaster they do not need while already fighting the Scourge and the blue dragonflight.

Cross-Expansion Connections

• Trial of the Crusader (WotLK Tier 9 Raid): Snobolds appear memorably in the Beasts of Northrend encounter. Gormok the Impaler, a magnataur, hurls Snobold Vassals onto raid members, where they cling on and cause havoc. The Magnataur Hunting Horn, which teaches you to summon a Snobold Runt companion pet, has a small chance to drop from this encounter. If you have ever wondered where those pesky snobolds came from in that raid, this quest is your introduction to their species.
• Magnataur do not feature prominently in post-WotLK content, making the Dragonblight camps one of the most detailed windows into their culture and social structure that the game offers.

Explore Dragonblight’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Dragonblight Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.