Chemical-free destruction of Asian hornet nests
Destroying Asian hornet nests without chemicals: Patent with PROTOTYPE being DEVELOPED
A hornet's nest eats 11 kg of insects !!!!, nearly half of which are bees ...
An alternative to toxic methods of elimination...
Watching bees being attacked by Asian hornets and seeing how difficult it is for them to get through the seasons, we've also realised that to protect them from the Asian hornet, bees are being eliminated using methods that are unsympathetic to pollinators and birds.
Chemical products are used in accordance with the current official methods, which are authorised and the most widely used. The current method contributes to swelling the tonnes of chemicals that are potentially released into the environment, or to managing nests that are "treated" as ecotoxic waste. The BeesForLifeAsso project is at the heart of the Ecophyto plan: researching and developing alternatives to plant protection products (chemicals).
The use of these chemicals exposes the entire ecosystem to chemical pollution. Run-off water and groundwater, the contamination of birds that peck at insects, the danger of exposure of people to chemicals in the environment of the treated nest and also the people who intervene to eliminate the nests are all affected by these dangerous products.
Our challenge with this project is therefore to stop using chemical products to eliminate the Asian hornet.
The chemical products regularly used are either synthetic, called permethrin, or of plant origin, pyrethrum. The impact of these products on biodiversity varies but is still very significant !!!!
Because they are so dangerous, these products are highly regulated and subject to strict application procedures. Among other things, professionals must hold an application certificate to use them.
Our innovative solution
With the VESPA GRIP tool that we are currently developing, we have an alternative solution that will no longer use chemicals.
Our observation of the life of the Asian hornet through our other projects has led us to come up with this original idea of large "sugar tongs" adapted ... for picking nests from the tree canopy.
The machine will use a form of grappling hook to catch the nest. The grapple will inject carbon dioxide to anaesthetise the hornet's nest. This is the same gas used to pressurise kegs of draught beer.
After reading a huge number of scientific documents and professional publications (ITSAP, UNAF, SNA and many others), we realised that this was an original idea that had never been registered with the French National Institute of Industrial Property. To obtain the status of invention, the INPI carried out national and international prior art searches. VESPA GRIP is recognised as an innovative solution that is technically feasible: a real innovation that led us to apply for a patent, published by the INPI in January 2022.
In pictures:
