At the beginning of last year, Zeeland concluded that the extermination of the Asian Hoornaar, a large wasp that has spread throughout the Netherlands since 2017, was no longer feasible. Since then, the province mainly focused on controlling the population. “We are not going to remove every nest, but do so, for example, when it is found at a playground at a school,” said Deputy Wilfried Nielen in March 2024. The budget was doubled again last year (to 300,000 euros), but then reduced.
Can the battle still win? Baarnse beekeeper Marijke fears explosion of Asian horners: ’15 times as much as last year’
Municipalities, organizations and private individuals will soon no longer be able to turn to the province when they find a nest. From then on they have to decide for themselves whether they engage a specialized company to remove such a large nest, which is often high in trees.
The Asian hornet is a so -called invasive exotic from abroad, and is considered an unwanted species. According to the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), the animal is harmful to honey bees, bumble bees and other pollinating insects. For people, a stitch of a hornet is only dangerous if you are allergic to that. Other provinces also decided to phase out the fight against the animal, because the wasp species can no longer be completely eradicated.