In Hasselt (Limburg Province), on Tuesday, a nest containing around 2,000 Asian hornets was removed from the playground of a primary school. Given the location, pest control operator Nicky Torbeyns had to take extra care. An aerial platform and a special vacuum cleaner were used.
The nest was hanging in a tall tree on the playground. The school itself had requested the removal of the nest. Treating it with poison was not an option. “If we spray the nest with a biocide, the hornets will fall to the ground,” explains Torbeyns. “As the playground isn’t paved, it would be difficult to clear the insects away, and they can still sting for up to two days after they die.”
So, the pest controllers climbed the tree using a cherry picker and a vacuum cleaner. Torbeyns and his colleague donned protective suits. They sucked up the hornets with a vacuum cleaner, cut the nest out of the tree and brought it down. The school was given the nest as educational material.
Removing a nest like this is not without risk. “The moment you start cutting away the branches to get to the nest, the nest is alerted and the hornets go on the attack,” says Torbeyns.
The people on the ground also had to protect themselves. The headteacher, who wanted to take photos, was stung. The man operating the aerial platform had to stay in the cab with the doors closed.
Torbeyns’ colleague was wearing safety goggles but still got venom in his eye. “It’s not the case that a hornet sprays venom as it flies past; usually it stings,” explains Torbeyns. “But because we’re wearing suits with a kind of mesh at the front, their aggression causes them to fly straight into it. They get stuck and try to sting.”
“In doing so, the hornet can pierce the visor of the mask, after which the venom is forced into the eye under pressure,” Torbeyns continues. “That can cause a burning sensation. Fortunately, my colleague’s injury turned out to be not too serious in the end.”
Torbeyns is currently pretty busy dealing with hornet nests. “We’re pretty fully booked every day,” he says. He adds it was even busier last year, when he was sometimes fully booked three days in advance. In some local authorities, where he has been the regular exterminator for years, the numbers this year are slightly lower than last year.
The season isn’t over yet, Torbeyns emphasises. Once the leaves have fallen from the trees, he expects things to get even busier, as the nests will then become more visible.