Zeeland halts fight against invasive Asian Hornet after budget runs out

Zeeland will stop funding the fight against the Asian hornet, a large invasive wasp, after running out of money, even as reports of the species’ nests continue to surge. The province has logged more than 1,200 reports this year—four times the total in 2023 and a sharp rise from just 19 in 2022.

First detected in the Netherlands in 2017, the Asian hornet is classified as an invasive exotic species and a threat to native pollinators. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) warns the insect harms honeybees, bumblebees, and other pollinating species. Its sting poses no danger to humans except for those with allergies.

Zeeland concluded in early 2023 that eradication was no longer feasible and shifted to limiting the spread. “We are not removing every nest, but we do so when one is found at, for example, a playground near a school,” provincial executive Wilfried Nielen said in March 2024.

The province doubled its control budget to 300,000 euros last year before phasing it out. Municipalities, organizations, and private citizens who discover nests—often large and high in trees—will soon have to decide themselves whether to hire specialized pest control companies. Other provinces have also scaled back eradication efforts, citing the impossibility of wiping out the species.