Asian hornet nests reach skippy-ball size in autumn: after the Vught attack, photograph the 2-3 cm hornet and report it on waarneming.nl

Around midday on 16 September a man pruning trees for the municipality of Vught hit an Asian hornet nest while working about 12 metres up in an aerial platform, was attacked by the hornets, jumped from the platform and was taken to hospital in Tilburg seriously injured; the municipality removed the nest that evening. For anyone with a garden or children who play in parks: the species, now officially called geelpoothoornaar or yellow-legged hornet, has spread across the country since 2017, and its summer nests hang high in trees and reach skippy-ball size by autumn, just as falling leaves make them visible and easy to disturb. The Dutch food and product safety authority NVWA says plainly that it is no longer possible to find and remove every nest. So recognise it, report it with photos and ask whether your province or municipality still removes nests. (source 2, source 1)

• How to recognise it: the yellow-legged hornet is 2 to 3 cm long with a black thorax, black antennae, yellow tips to its legs and an abdomen with two narrow and one broad orange band; the native European hornet is bigger, 3 to 4 cm, with a red-brown thorax, antennae and legs. It is not drawn to sweet drinks and food like a common wasp and attacks when its nest is disturbed. (source 1, source 3)
• How to report it: take several sharp photographs of the hornet or the nest, note the location and report it on waarneming.nl; the NVWA states that a report without clear photos is useless. The province of Zeeland adds that you should not kill the hornet straight away, because its flight path is often the clue to where the nest is. (source 1, source 3)
• Who removes nests: the NVWA advises asking your province or municipality whether it removes nests, or hiring a professional pest controller yourself, and every municipality has its own policy. Zeeland, for example, is removing only a limited number of nests this year because of a policy change; for now a contractor still removes them free of charge, but the province states that ordinary nests will in future be left to each municipality. (source 1, source 3)
• If you are stung: a yellow-legged hornet sting hurts more than a common wasp sting but is only dangerous for people allergic to wasps, who should contact a doctor as soon as possible. A single hornet seen from October to December is usually a queen looking for a place to overwinter and has no nest. (source 1)

Do two sums yourself. The first identifies the insect: divide the length you measured or estimated by 25.75 mm, the diameter of a 2-euro coin. A result between 0.8 and 1.2 (20 to 30 mm) with a black thorax points to the yellow-legged hornet; 1.2 to 1.6 (30 to 40 mm) with a red-brown thorax is the native European hornet, which is not the invasive species to report. The second is the cost: what you pay for removal = 0 if your province or municipality still removes nests, or the quote from a pest controller if it no longer does. So call the municipality once before you decide to hire anyone, and do not pay first. (source 1, source 3, source 4)

Hokimi field note: before trimming a hedge or climbing a ladder to clear the gutters this autumn, walk round and look at the tree crowns and under the eaves for a grey, ball-shaped paper nest; if you see one, stop, photograph it and report it, and never poke it with a stick or a hose. Checked on 17 September 2026 against the NVWA, the province of Zeeland and the NOS report. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, by Didier Descouens, Victoriatell, Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart and Fernando Losada Rodríguez, used under CC BY-SA 4.0 / CC BY 4.0.