“The prospects are not very good” according to experts. If we don’t destroy these insect nests right away, there will be dozens of them next year.
With fall, we must expect certain annoyances specific to the season. The arrival of cooler weather after a long period of heat, the leaves falling, the trees becoming bare as a result… All of this is conducive to the development of harmful insects. Beware of unpleasant surprises.
People who have a garden or live near the countryside know this: it is the time to protect ourselves from certain species, which take shelter from the cold by entering our homes or which have taken advantage of the mild temperatures to build substantial shelters in green spaces.
In several regions of France, first in the south, the southwest and the Atlantic coast, the most obvious threat is that of the Asian hornet. If experts on this insect have been warning about its spread in France for years, this fall of 2023 is actually turning out to be crucial. “We are in the middle of a period where we see them clearly. We sometimes do around ten interventions per week,” explains the manager of Delta Guêpes 23, which operates in the Creuse, with France Bleu.
“The increasingly hot summers will increase their lifespan. We will find nests until the beginning of December. In the southwest, they still find them in January. The problem is that if we don’t destroy one nest, it will create dozens of them next year,” he adds. And in a more alarmist tone: “The outlook is not very good. It will continue to increase if we don’t do anything more.”
Disinfection specialists are unanimous and are sounding the alarm across the four corners of France. In Normandy, in Orne, Ouest-France reports that “the number of reported Asian hornet nests is increasing” with more difficult interventions. The local newspaper points out “a situation which worries experts and residents”. La Charente Libre also reports “unprecedented pressure exerted by this hymenoptera” and “a never-before-seen threat” for bees, particularly around La Rochelle. L’Est Républicain also mentions a “proliferation” never seen before in Lorraine.
The danger is real: nests can contain thousands of hornets and they can attack en masse if they feel threatened. This often happens since you only need to approach a few meters from the nest. Please note, to destroy a nest, it is necessary to call on trained and equipped professionals, it is imperative. And we must not delay, it is very important to dislodge the nests, which multiply from year to year if nothing is done.