2023-10-09 08:24:05
It is a bee killer, a real bane of beekeepers. Since 2016, the Asian hornet has continued to expand in Belgium. To more effectively slow down its progression, certain relief areas in the country have decided to make the destruction of nests free. The problem is that, since then, faced with numerous reports, firefighters have struggled to keep up.
In the Hainaut Center area for example, in this month of October, around thirty Asian hornet nests are destroyed on average every day. Several teams, spread across the ten barracks in the area, take care of this. But only one is equipped to neutralize nests located at the top of trees. “Let’s be honest, today we are overwhelmedrecognizes Benoît Filipi, fire captain of the Hainaut Center zone. The demand is so strong that a waiting list is being created.” The officer did the math: Asian hornets today represent 20% of interventions by firefighters in the area which covers a vast region between Mons, the Center and Enghien. “However, our firefighters, we also need them for fires, road accidents… The goal is not to completely reject missions against hornets, but it is to be able to distribute them so that they do not saturate us not.”
Eliminating a hornet’s nest can actually take quite a bit of time. These secondary nests, active until late autumn, are often located at an impressive height. To neutralize them, firefighters use a 30-meter pole which allows them to distil an insecticide powder within the nest. This must be done before winter, before the future queens leave to found new colonies next year.
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