Emergency situation?
The Brussels Fire Brigade intervenes free of charge only in urgent cases, defined as a situation that:
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Is serious: seriously threatens the health, life, or safety of individuals.
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Is imminent: is about to happen or is already occurring.
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Is unavoidable: cannot be controlled without immediate intervention.
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Is irreversible: cannot be postponed without severe consequences.
Direct and vital threat (attack)? Call 112
Examples of direct and vital threats:
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Mass attack after disturbing a nest (during construction work, due to a ball, etc.)
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Multiple stings
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Sting in the mouth, nose, or throat
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Allergic reaction to the venom
Threat making a location inaccessible and which cannot be immediately avoided? Call 112
Examples:
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Passage impossible due to the nest (access to a home, crowded public area, living space that cannot be isolated, etc.)
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Nest in or directly near a school, daycare, playground, or hospital during times when vulnerable individuals are present (e.g., during school hours)
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Nest in critical infrastructure (courtyard, power plant requiring rapid worker access, etc.).
Non-urgent cases?
Find a pest controller https://renature.brussels/en/pest-controllers for nests that do not pose an immediate threat but cause inconvenience, such as:
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Hornets in flight (no visible nest), foraging on flowers (e.g., ivy in September-October), hovering around compost heaps, or raiding beehives – danger varies
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Nest spotted from afar (deep in parks, tree canopies, off forest paths...) or in areas that are not accessed (school or daycare closed, industrial zone restricted to the public, unused building...) – danger varies
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Nest in an area that can be temporarily closed or bypassed (window that can be shut, room that can be isolated, path that can be diverted, nest at the back of a garden at a safe distance from the house...) – potentially dangerous, but not urgent
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Dying nest, observed between November and May in trees – no danger