There’s nothing worse than enjoying an outdoor activity only to get swarmed by hungry wasps looking for food. With a few household items and a little ingenuity, however, you can create a bait trap for these pests that will keep your area of activity clear of them.
Hornets and yellow jackets are the most common types of wasps, and can be differentiated from bees by their thin waists. Wasps build paper or mud nests in trees, eaves of buildings, and even in the ground. This is where the problem lies. Wasps are scavengers, feeding on leftover food (such as from the garbage or the dog and cat bowls) or garden insects. This means they tend to colonize close to humans, as we create an endless source of food for them.
If a colony is far enough away from your area as to not cause a problem for you, it will die out by itself during late fall. But if the nest is too near for your liking, or if a member of your family is highly allergic, a wasp trap can reduce the numbers of them in your area.
One of the easiest traps to make at home requires an empty two liter bottle, string or wire, a stapler, a knife, and bait (more on that later). Cut off the top quarter of the bottle as illustrated in box A of the diagram, so you have what is seen in box B. Invert the top and place it into the bottom (box C), and staple it into place. Now punch holes in the top to attach the string or wire for hanging, and fill with bait (box D). Attach the trap to a fence post or tree limb, about 20-30 feet away from where people will be. Once full, replace with a newly made trap.
For an even easier yellow jacket or hornet trap, take a two liter bottle, cut a small hole near the curved part of the top (about 3/4 of an inch in diameter), fill with bait, replace the lid and hang. Use five or more of either of the two liter bottle traps for a larger sized infestation.
For the attractant, or bait, there are a number of possibilities. You can use anything from fruit juice, to sugar water, to beer and it will attract hornets and yellow jackets. One highly effective recipe is to combine 1/2 C sugar with 1/2 C water and mix well. Add to that 1 C apple cider vinegar and one banana peel, and mix again. This can all be done directly in your bait bottle.
If you have a large area where it won’t be bothered by children or animals, a bucket trap is a good bet. Simply hang a piece of raw meat (such as fish or liver) over a bucket filled with water and a little detergent added. As wasps eat, they will become so heavy they cannot easily fly away, and will drop into the water and drown.
Try any of these traps and you’ll be on your way to pest free outdoor fun in no time.
