Old Farm

It's not just about efficacy, it's about leaving insecticide out where other things will eat it. Birds going into a poisoned AH nest to eat the larvae are going to die. When does the poison stop working, not sure anyone knows. The NBU remove nests they have destroyed and remove them if possible, think they left 3 nests in situ last year.

There is a chap in France who kills nests by shooting them with paint pellets loaded with insecticide. Not an approved approach in the UK.

The reaction is about the same. People who are greatest risk are anyone with an immune disorder, heart problems or breathing issues like asthma, the reaction may be more severe for these folks.

You might be joking, but in case you aren't, please don't do that because they would be on you like a rash before you could blink. If you were on the ground and that happened you could run, up a tree doesn't bear thinking about. As part of the defence behaviour they poo while attacking, the motion of the wings vaporises the poo and if it gets in your eyes it will be painful for several hours.

Nests are hard to spot, even when you are very close to them. If you set up a monitor they will generally find it within 30 minutes, so no Asian Hornets at a monitor can be reassuring.

Getting permission to use photographs for free can be hard work, just trying to say thanks to the people who provided them.

There are no pheromone traps at the moment, I believe some people are working on it. The easiest thing to do is set up a wick bait station, it's just a jar with a hole in the lid, a wick and an attractant like Trappit in the jar. If there are Asian Hornets in the area they will find it within 30 minutes - so you could set a monitor when you visit a site to quote for a job, or when setting up before starting work. They typically feed within 1km of the nest. When feeding they are docile and not a problem, but disturbing the nest is different ball game and they will be very aggressive. Noise or vibration within 10m of the nest will set them off, and they will only back off when you are 30m+ away from the nest.

Asian Hornets are starting to come out of hibernation, primary nest building will start around the end of March and the move to secondary nests in late June. The NNSS has produced some leaflets but try as I might, I can't load them on here, so I've loaded up something I have put together. Please take a minute to see what an Asian hornet looks like and put the Asian Hornet App on your phone. These hornets are very defensive of the nest, if you disturb a nest the best thing to do is retreat as quickly and safely as you can. Happy to answer questions where I can. Please stay safe.