Eindhoven has a budget of over 350,000 this year to fight hornets and alien plants. This is necessary to combat the nuisance caused by these species, the city council writes in a letter.
Meanwhile, the municipality has nine plant species listed as so-called “invasive species”. These include ragweed, giant balsam and Japanese knotweed. The latter plant has been causing damage in several places in recent years and can even destroy roads and pipes underground.
Hornets
Insects from other regions also cause nuisance and are on the list. This applies, for example, to the hornet. Stings from this large wasp can be painful. They can also attack bee colonies. Also mentioned is the Tapinoma nigerrimum. This is an ant that causes sunken sidewalks and gardens, among other things, according to the pest expertise centre ‘Kenniscentrum Dierplagen’.
Detection
The municipality expects to combat the plants and insects by quickly detecting and destroying them. Thus, administrators and policy officers receive training to register exotic species immediately. If certain species pose a danger to the environment, action is taken at once, the mayor and councillors write. For example, a nest with Asian hornet near a primary school was destroyed earlier.
The municipality cooperates with companies that specialise in this field in controlling them. There are also consultations with the province to jointly tackle the control of certain species.
Source: Studio 040
Translator: Vanya
