Record in Upper Austria

Never before have there been so many wasp interventions

osef Mayr (left) and Johann Klausberger from the Niederneukirchen fire brigade remove some huge wasp nests

(Bild: TEAM FOTOKERSCHI / KERSCHBAUMMAYR)

The strong insect summer is not only a challenge for emergency doctors, but also for the fire departments: So far this year, they have had to call out more than 10,000 times in Upper Austria to remove nests. That is an unprecedented number of insect interventions.

"Wasps are on the rampage! Emergency doctors are in constant action", was the headline in the "Krone" newspaper at the beginning of August. Due to the mild spring, there are particularly many of the insects out and about this year - and this is making itself felt in the hospitals. In the Salzkammergut clinics, treatments for stings have reportedly more than doubled compared to the previous year, from 82 to 215. Insect stings can be life-threatening for allergy sufferers.

Wasp nests are often in the roof truss

(Bild: © TEAM FOTOKERSCHI.AT / Feuerwehr Niederneukirchen)

Nests are only removed in the event of imminent danger
However, the rescue services are not the only blue-light organization under wasp stress, the sirens are also wailing for the fire departments: "It's a huge increase compared to the previous year," says Marie-Sophie Gahler, officer of the Upper Austrian fire brigade command. "We had just under 5,400 insect operations in 2022, in 2023 it was 4,455 for the whole year. And in 2024 it's already 10,890 so far."

The Florianis are called out to remove dangerous nests. It's not always wasps, hornets are also a cause for concern. "But the main issue this year is clearly wasps," says Gahler.

"Only in case of imminent danger"
Johann Klausberger from the Niederneukirchen fire department can also tell you a thing or two about this: "We've had around 30 call-outs this year, twice as many as last year. We only remove nests if there is imminent danger, for example because an allergy sufferer is in the house or because the nest is near the window of a child's room." If possible, Klausberger releases the wasps alive in forests. The nests can sometimes reach impressive sizes.