Active searching for and removal of yellow-legged Asian hornets will be discontinued by the municipality of Stichtse Vecht starting in 2027. The number of nests has increased so rapidly that control and eradication are becoming too expensive. The province had already previously scaled back the large-scale pest control measures.
Beekeepers reacted with alarm. “If you do nothing, insect populations will come under pressure,” beekeeper Paul Bron told AD back in March.
Following the scale-back, D66 committee member Janne Ouwerkerk submitted questions to the municipality. The answers show that in Stichtse Vecht the control of yellow-legged hornets from 2027 will follow the same policy that is already used for wasps.
“The municipality only acts in cases of risks on municipal land,” Ouwerkerk told AD. “On private property the responsibility and the choice regarding control lie with the user, homeowner, and site manager themselves.”
That means that the municipality will no longer actively search for and remove nests but will remain responsible for public spaces. “Now that the species is definitively established, searching for and clearing all nests is no longer relevant,” according to the municipality.
