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A joint effort involving emergency service staff and volunteers saw the largest Asian hornet nest recorded in Guernsey destroyed recently while another large nest has been dealt with in Alderney.
The pests had been spotted in both islands before being tracked to their respective nests.
Last week in Guernsey, Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) and the Civil Protection Volunteers had to help the Asian Hornet Team when a large nest was discovered high up in an oak tree at La Vallette.
It was so high up that GFRS had to use a turntable ladder which could extend up to 32m above ground level to reach it.
With the bathing pools being busy over the tail end of the summer holidays, the decision was made to tackle the nest during the evening with Civil Protection Volunteers closing the road.
This nest was found after members of the public reported seeing Asian hornets in town.
The insects were tracked to their nest using bait stations adding to the number already detected this year.
“Since August, we have found nine nests and removed five," said Francis Russell, Guernsey's Asian Hornet Strategy Coordinator.
"Plans are underway to deal with the remaining nests where locations have made this particularly challenging.
"As autumn approaches, the race is on to remove all the Asian hornet nests across the island. If nests remain in place and are not dealt with as a matter of urgency, the production of a new generation of queens will be triggered, with a large secondary nest capable of producing as many as 300-500 queens. These would then hibernate on the island over the winter causing further problems for the following year.”
Mr Russell thanked both GFRS and Civil Protection for their help.
Jon Le Page, Chief Fire Officer - Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service, said he was pleased they could help.
“We were more than happy to be able to be able to offer our equipment and personnel to support the Asian hornet team last week," he said.
"It’s the first time we’ve been called upon to support this line of work and our officers assisted ably. Although we are responsible for dealing with fires and providing advice to prevent fires, our remit is much broader than that, including rescuing people after a road traffic collision or helping with cliff rescues, and this latest work further highlights the varied support that our crews offer.”
Pictured: The Alderney Asian Hornet team of David Jarolik and Greg Pepper.
In Alderney this week alone there have been two nests discovered.
David Jarolik and Greg Pepper use the Alderney Asian Hornet group on Facebook to keep residents informed of their work.
The two most recently discovered nests were 19in and 24in in length.
The insects had been spotted at locations including School Lane and Gauvains Row enabling the pair to track them and destroy the nests.
Mr Russell of Guernsey's Asian Hornet Team recently explained that the advice wherever you are is the same: If you spot an Asian hornet do not kill it, instead take a picture and observe the direction it flies in before reporting it to him via 07839 197082 or asianhornet@gov.gg or to the Alderney team via the States of Alderney or the Alderney Asian Hornet group on Facebook.
Find out more about how to identify an Asian hornet at gov.gg/asianhornet.
Pictured top: Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service locating a nest in Guernsey and two nests recently discovered in Alderney.
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