Asian Hornets get a transmitter to detect and destroy nests

But how does that work? First they catch the wasp with a lure and then stun it. They then attach the Hornet to a plastic plate, so that they can attach a transmitter to the wasp.

300 euros each

But the channels are expensive. “Such a transmitter currently costs around 300 euros each. There is a small loop attached to it and with a sturdy wire, which we attach to the underside of the Hoornaar,” says Dominique Soete of Vespa Watch, the Flemish hotline for Asian hornet nests. (Read more below the photo)

Grants

Because the transmitters are expensive, the province of West Flanders will subsidize the entire operation in order to detect and exterminate more nests. Each summer, too many nests remain under the radar. The first Hoornaars will probably receive a transmitter in June.

The Asian Hornet is also becoming more and more common with us. In West Flanders, the specialized Vespa Watch has removed more than 120 nests of those wasps in 2022. That is a strong increase compared to the previous year.