The ART (Animal Rescue Team) team of the Brussels fire brigade exterminated an Asian hornet nest on Sunday, an insect that poses a threat to the survival of bees in Belgium.
The nest was built in a tree at a height of about 15 metres. "This extermination of Asian hornets is certainly a first in Brussels for the fire brigade, and probably also a national first," a spokesman for the Brussels fire brigade said on Monday.
"During the past week a firefighter, a member of the ART team, noticed the presence of Asian hornets in the Brussels Region. On Saturday, an ART team investigator then went looking for the nest and effectively located it in a tree at a height of about 15 metres," the spokesman explained.
"On Sunday, the workers first used an elevator to get closer to the nest and injected the insecticide into the nest with a 5-metre pole. The same operation was repeated from the ground, this time with a 22-metre pole," the spokesman said.
This was a first for the ART team, newly created within the Service d'Intervention et d'Aide Médicale Urgente (Siamu) in Brussels.
The Brussels Times
