While private companies charge up to €500 for hornet removal, the 'Dr. Andrija Štampar' Institute offers the service at a fixed price of €110. Ten years ago, residents could also count on free beekeeper assistance, but that option was discontinued.
The presence of hornets near the home causes understandable concern, and most Zagreb residents then reach for the phone to call in the experts. However, the cost of that intervention can be a significant blow to the household budget, depending on who comes to the site. While private pest control companies charge up to €500 for their services, the Department for Disinfection, Disinsection, and Deratization (DDD) at the 'Dr. Andrija Štampar' Teaching Institute of Public Health offers a significantly more affordable, fixed-price option.
The market offers a range of authorized private companies, whose list can be found on the website of the Croatian Association for Disinfection, Disinsection, and Deratization. Their hornet nest removal service costs on average between €150 and €250, but that is just the starting figure. The final amount can be significantly higher.
The price range among private providers spans from €160 all the way to €500, including VAT, with various factors influencing the final cost. "The price is influenced by access conditions, nest size, the number of personnel and equipment deployed, as well as other specific circumstances such as night work, whether it's one or multiple nests at the same location or in different positions, and whether the intervention is carried out on a weekend or holiday," Rene Švajger, a graduate sanitary engineer from a private pest control company in Zagreb, explained to Jutarnji list.
In contrast to the private sector, the DDD Department at the 'Dr. Andrija Štampar' Institute of Public Health has a single, fixed price for the City of Zagreb area, amounting to €110 including VAT. This amount covers both the visit and the actual nest removal. Residents can contact them on any working day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and they typically respond within a day or two of the call.
Ana Klobučar, head of the Department for Disinfection, Disinsection, and Deratization, emphasizes that they primarily provide the service in Zagreb. "We mainly operate within the City of Zagreb, and the price for the Zagreb County area is 20% higher. We do not provide services outside Zagreb County. Additionally, we do not remove nests located at heights that are inaccessible to us, as we do not have climbing equipment," Klobučar told Jutarnji list.
The Institute also notes that before heading out, they conduct a detailed discussion with the client about the nest's location. If, during the inspection, it turns out that removal is not possible, the cost of the visit and the unsuccessful intervention for the client is €35 including VAT.
Today's prices are particularly striking when one considers that until 2016, Zagreb residents had a free option. The City Beekeeping Service, known as the Beekeeping Duty Service of the City of Zagreb, operated as a project of the 'Pčelinjak' Beekeepers' Association with the support of the City. Their volunteers helped residents not only with bee swarms but also with wasps and hornets.
However, this practice was halted ten years ago. The 'Pčelinjak' Association then announced that, according to a city decision, beekeepers were no longer allowed to remove wasps and hornets. Since then, residents have been directed exclusively to professional pest control companies or to solve the problem on their own, marking the end of the era of free interventions.
