Just in case you didn’t have enough things to worry about: Asian hornets are becoming more and more numerous in the Netherlands!
According to experts, the likelihood of the public encountering these spicy wasps is increasing, RTL Nieuws reports.
And this is reflected in Waarneming.nl‘s figures. In 2021, the Asian hornet was spotted around 218 times. By 2025? 108,311 times. And 2026 isn’t looking good either with the count already standing at 79,967 sightings.
More stinging incidents
Rob Voesten, biologist and the Netherlands’ hornet expert tells RTL Nieuws that most of the sightings occur in the south of the country (sorry southerners), however, the hornets are slowly creeping up the north of the country as well.
“Every year there are more of them, despite the control measures,” he tells the outlet.
And what does that equal? More stinging incidents.
As RTL Nieuws reports, just last week, Thom, a tree surgeon, was stung over 30 times while pruning trees in Tilburg.
A month previous, another tree surgeon in Vught was forced to jump from his cherry picker to escape an attack by a swarm, breaking multiple bones.
Who is responsible?
Initially, it was the provinces’ job to remove any Asian hornets nests. However, the budget ran out. The job was then passed on to the municipalities.
Of course, the reality of this situation is that many people end up trying to remove the nests themselves, which, surprise, results in more stinging incidents.
“What we also see is that more and more people are eliminating nests, even though they don’t really know how to do it properly. As a result, we are having more stinging incidents,” Voesten tells RTL Nieuws.
The insects are fierce defenders of their nests, and with nests increasing, more and more people are getting stung.
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