Telescopic lance will help Asian hornet team

The £2,000 AirAdik lance can extend to 15 metres – higher than a four storey house – bringing treetops, cliffs and other inaccessible places within reach.

Pressurised air is then used to deliver insecticide powder into the hornets’ nest so that it can then be safely removed.

Francis Russell, the States' invasive non-native species policy and coordination officer, said the new piece of kit was a game changer in the fight against the invasive species.

‘Tracking hornets to locate their nests is only half the battle,’ he said.

‘Once a nest has been found the biggest challenge is how to gain safe access so the nest can be destroyed and removed, sometimes these prove to be in extremely testing situations.’

He said that while the three nests found this year, and most of the 14 nests tackled last year, were within easy reach of their eight metre lance, the most difficult nests were out of reach or on uneven ground.

‘The only option for removing nests found on the cliffs at Fermain and two over quarries in the Vale was to utilise rope access specialists,’ he said.

‘This new lance will hopefully reduce the occasions where we need to work from a mobile elevated platform which will save money and time.’

Asian hornets are an invasive species and target local pollinators.

Just one Asian hornet can eat up to 50 honeybees a day.

The Guernsey Beekeepers Association contributed 50% of the overall costs of the specialist equipment.

‘We are so fortunate the team are dealing so efficiently with this issue and appreciate both the hard work and their regular communications to us, keeping our beekeepers informed of the situation,’ said Guernsey Beekeepers Association secretary Debbie Cox.

The GBKA presented the Dave Parsons MBE Memorial Trophy to the Asian hornet team at last year's Honey Show. The award goes to the person, or persons, who has made the most outstanding contribution to the GBKA in that year.

A cylinder and regulator valve for the new kit was donated by local company Donkey Divers, to supply the lance with a steady flow of compressed air.

‘We were finding it difficult and expensive to get a compressed air cylinder,’ said Mr Russell.

‘I spoke to Steve Bougourd from Donkey Divers for advice and he very kindly offered to give us the equipment for free as he recognised it as such a good cause. The two donations are a lovely example of the community coming together to help each other.’