Scientists set to battle murder hornets as they establish nests: "Serious danger to our health"

Scientists in the U.S. and Canada are opening new fronts in the war against so-called murder hornets as the giant insects begin establishing nests this spring. The scientists said Wednesday that the battle to prevent the apex predators from establishing a foothold in North America is being fought mostly in Whatcom County, Washington, and the nearby Fraser Valley of British Columbia, where the hornets have been spotted in recent years.

"This is not a species we want to tolerate here in the United States," said Sven-Erik Spichiger of the Washington state Department of Agriculture, which eradicated a nest of the Asian giant hornets last year. "The Asian giant hornet is not supposed to be here." "We may not get them all, but we will get as many as we can," he said of eradication efforts this year.