With hundreds of miles of hedgerows and footpaths currently being cut back for the September branchage, Dr Tim du Feu, the Environment Department’s director of environmental protection, says they are sending out 150 letters, with specially produced fact sheets including images to help distinguish Asian hornets from local species and wasps.
The move comes after a man was stung while cutting a hedge at the Sun Bowls Club at First Tower at around 10 am yesterday.
Club president Peter Davis said the man, a member of the bowls club, had a bad reaction and collapsed unconscious.
‘Another member went up to him when he had cut along the top of the hedge and an Asian hornet sprang out of the hedge and stung him under the eye,’ he said.
He was taken to the General Hospital, where Mr Davis said the man later regained consciousness. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Beekeepers, who are heading the Island’s Asian hornet task force, were alerted and pest controllers quickly arrived to inject insecticide into the nest.
Although the Asian hornet poses no greater a risk to human health than other stinging insects, their stingers are bigger than wasps’ and they can sting more than once.
People who have severe allergic reactions to stings are most at risk, as are those who receive multiple stings after disturbing nests. Three people have died in Spain this summer from multiple Asian hornet stings sustained when they disturbed nests while cutting back undergrowth or hedges.
Dr du Feu said: ‘Their nests are everywhere, so the main thing to get out is that they do not just live in tall trees as we were led to believe, but they can also be found in hedges.
‘The nest numbers are increasing exponentially and they are here to stay. We are going to have to learn to live with them and be extra vigilant in all we do.’
On Thursday, the Environment Department met staff from Education and the emergency services ahead of the start of the autumn term, as nests have been found close to schools in St Saviour.
‘Education will be inspecting all school premises before the new term and each school will be given Asian hornet traps in order to monitor any activity,’ Dr du Feu said.
‘We are going to get two more of the specially designed Asian hornet protective suits from France, which are designed to protect wearers from the sting, and we’ll be giving those to Jersey Fire and Rescue.
‘We already have protocols in place with the emergency services which we established last year to deal with Asian hornets including what to do when they receive reports of nests.’
Information about the Asian hornet, including an identification sheet, is available from the States website, gov.je.
