Charter of good practice

Reference to the official text NOTE DE SERVICE DGAL/SDSPA/N2013-8082 Date: 10 May 2013

As part of the development of the fight against the Asian hornet, Bees For Life has developed an application for local authorities wishing to organise and publicise, via their website, their environmental actions to protect against the Asian hornet.

We offer companies involved in destroying Asian hornet nests the chance to publicise themselves at 3 different levels of visibility by registering on the Bees For Life website.

Where an agreement exists between the town and Bees For Life, this publication practice will be aligned with the actions that the town wishes to implement.

Open registration" list of Asian hornet nest destruction operators

By registering on the site, you will be made visible with your contact details and your location on an interactive map accessible to all visitors to the site. The operator is responsible for managing the information published.

List of operators "selected" by a local authority

Once a local authority has decided to use Bees For Life's support, it can choose from a selection of destruction operators in accordance with its regulatory or internal processes. At the end of this selection process, the contact details and specific information selected by the local authority relating to nest destruction operators will be made visible on the Bees For Life website via the local authority's website or via the Bees For Life website, depending on the commitment made between the local authority and Bees For Life.

List of operators complying with the Bees For Life "Reference System

Bees For Life has drawn up a Selection Criteria that incorporates the "good practices" recommended by official texts (2013), among others.
The pest control operator who meets and positively responds to the criteria and conditions set by Bees For Life will be identified on the interactive map with the status "Bees For Life Insect Control Operators or Bees For Life BIO". This enables people who need Asian hornet nest disinfestation to find an operator assessed by a third party. This benchmark also allows operators to present their pricing practices on a similar basis, enabling users to choose their operator more quickly.

It also enables local authorities that have not selected their pest control operators through a call for tenders to rely on this list of operators who have signed up to the Guidelines based on good pest control practice. Local authorities can therefore recommend the use of this list of pest control operators to those reporting Asian hornet nests.

When the town or community of communes uses the Bees For Life platform to manage nest declarations by private individuals and has made its own selection of nest disinsectisation operators working in private and public areas, an agreement is reached with the town on the need to publish or not to publish this list. The list can also be used as a basis for invitations to tender for a discount on the price of destroying a nest for public bodies wishing to do so, in accordance with procedures to be specified.

There are two levels of Standards, differentiated according to their level of respect for the environment:

• The classic Bees For Life Standard
• The Bees For Life BIO Standard

Operators who carry out disinsectisation of Asian hornet nests as part of the Bees For Life BIO Standard commit to the following good practices, among others:

• Taking out a civil liabilityinsurance policy .
• Comply with the specifications of the Bees For Life standard.
• Ensuring that its staff involved in destroying nestsare qualified , in particular for the use of nest destruction equipment and the necessary approvals for the use of biocidal products.
• Operate in complete safety on the destruction site with regard to third parties and the people carrying out the operation and their environment.
• Carry out optimum destruction of the nest, in compliance with the Bees For Life specifications and following the best practices of the profession within the legal framework, including, among others:
  • mechanical techniques for disinsectisation and the elimination of small primary nests (with the destruction of the foundress) to reduce the use of chemical biocides as much as possible.
  • the use of a pyrethrum-based product of plant origin with a short shelf life, to reduce its environmental impact.
  • make every effort to ensure that the implementation period is as short as possible, for the comfort of the declarant and to reduce the safety risk for which the Asian hornet is classified as a second category under French regulations.
• Agree to be audited by Bees For Life to help improve good practice and validate its implementation. Bees For Life reserves the right to deregister an operator who does not follow good practice.