Beekeepers to get funds to combat hornets, but homeowners are on their own

Beekeepers are to be given financial aid to catch aggressive oriental hornets. But anyone hoping the money will be used to cull populations of the pest in urban settings is set to be disappointed.    The scheme, announced by Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo on Wednesday, will see beekeepers given an undisclosed amount of money to install traps in beehives.  Money will also be dedicated to a public education campaign advising people not to do things like leaving their organic waste out before garbage collection time, to discourage hornets.  Refalo gave no details about the funding scheme and did not say when or how beekeepers would be able to apply for aid.  Agriculture Directorate director Marco Dimech, however, made it clear that the funding was solely focused on apiaries and bee production.  “This is a pest control issue and does not fall within our remit," Dimech said when asked what people could do if they spotted a hornet nest on a property they do not own.   Private pest control companies charge as much as €150 to block off hornet's nests - around half the average worker's weekly salary.  The Oriental Hornet, whose sting has been known to hospitalise people, is an...