French resident sets house on fire trying to destroy hornet nest
The Haute-Vienne man went against official advice
Hornets' nest hangs beneath a wooden roof frame, with a blowtorch shown in an inset at top right.
Istvan Csak / Photon collector / Shutterstock
A man has accidentally set fire to his own house in west-central France after attempting to destroy a hornets’ nest with a blowtorch, rendering the house uninhabitable.
The 35-year-old man owns the wooden property in Saint-Martin-Terressus, near Limoges (Haute-Vienne). While attempting to tackle a hornets’ nest on the roof using a blowtorch on May 7, he accidentally set the property alight.
The fire had already spread and severely damaged the property by the time firefighters arrived.
The man was taken to the CHU Limoges hospital with minor injuries. His partner, aged 33 and pregnant, was also taken to hospital for a check-up as a precaution.
The house, a 70m2 property made with pine wood, was built by the owner himself.
“The rain screen under the roof caught fire,” he told France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine. “We called the fire brigade, and they did what they could. It was mainly the plant-based insulation that burned.”
The couple has been taken in by neighbours, as the house is now uninhabitable.
What should I do if I find a hornets’ nest on my property?
People are strongly advised not to attempt to remove a hornet’s nest or to approach it, said Séverine Bourlon, the captain of Haute-Vienne fire service SDIS 87, also to France 3.
She advised that anyone who finds a nest at their home should call a specialist pest control company. The fire service “no longer carries out nest removal operations, except in emergency situations in sensitive public areas”, she said.
Specialists “will be able to carry out the work safely using suitable equipment and gear”, she added. Under no circumstances should anyone try to remove the nest themselves, and should especially avoid attempting to burn it or smoke it out, she said.
She also warned that “people aren’t necessarily aware that they are allergic to hornet stings”. “The venom builds up in the body: the first time, there may be no reaction, but on subsequent occasions, there might be,” she said.
If you find a nest, take a photograph of the nest if possible, while keeping a distance, using zoom and no flash, so you can accurately record its location. Then, report it to your local mairie and to a professional company. Depending on your area, the authorities will either direct you to a specialist or arrange for removal.
The incident comes soon after experts at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle said that this year could see more hornets (both Asian and European) than usual, as the mild winter has allowed more queens than usual to survive hibernation.
Hornets look for warm, wooden, and wind-sheltered locations to build nests. A common site is under roofs, or in garden sheds. Be careful to look in places such as the dark eaves.
Beekeeping associations have also offered advice on how to install traps, in a bid to prevent hornet nests before they become a problem.
European and Asian hornets are unlikely to attack humans unless disturbed or provoked, experts say. Yet, France has recently launched a €3 million strategy aimed at limiting the impact of Asian hornets, as they are an invasive species and present a threat to the honeybee population.
Asian hornets were first identified in France in 2004 and have since spread nationwide.
