My wasp traps in pics

My home made wasp trap design.
Made using info from the beekeeping forum.

Tesco cheap squash bottle or similar.

Cut top off, remove lid and invert over base.

Place gravel in bottom to steady in windy conditions.

Partially fill the bottom (over gravel but below upturned lid) with 1:2 sugar water solution, vinegar and a spoon of jam.

Place in sheltered location to prevent rain filling up bottle.

Under hive has worked well for me with small bottles. Large ones under table frame for top bar hive (still to be built).

Watch the wasps fill up and drown.

Once full, empty whole of contents and replace upturned lid with new wasp recipe - start again.

Hope this helps others. I have loads of wasps around my hives this year and this is definately getting rid of some.

The vinegar stops the bees from wanting to drink from it!!

Good luck

Dave.

Going to try one of these now

You want to use parcel tape or similar to seal the joint between the cut off top and bottom, otherwise wasps can still escape from within.

Frisbee

I spent a while watching the wasps go into my wasp traps and noticed that while the vast majority of wasps who fly in get trapped a few seem to figure it out. I trapped well over a hundred but noticed two or three who seemed to be able to fly in and out at will. Has anyone else noticed this?

wasps can skate on the surface tension of the liquid (like water boatmen) - a drop of washing up liquid reduces the surface tension and they drown.

Frisbee said:

You want to use parcel tape or similar to seal the joint between the cut off top and bottom, otherwise wasps can still escape from within.

Frisbee

Click to expand...

On the small concentrated squash bottles, I cut on the second groove down. This means that when placed together, the "bulge" on the top section fits into the bulge on the top of the lower section. Very secure.
On the others, tape would probably help.

Dave.

I have found these traps normally attract more wasps. Has anyone else found this situation?

"My home made wasp trap design."

Thanks for the pictorial show - am going out to our recycling box now to start building said traps - very good!

Another great wasp-killer thread!

An earlier one prompted me to make some and they are already full (well, half inch deep) of drowned wasps.

It's noticeable that there aren't so many up at hive entrance level....

Why place them under the hive surely this would attract them to the hive. Wouldnt it be better to place them further away from the hives?

Craig

Yes there's logic in what you say but once they're attracted they are just minutes away from being dead!

richard

When I asked about traps I was directed to this excellent thread which really is worth spending a couple of hours reading through: http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5818

What you're doing seems to be at odds with the information there - you're attracting thousands of wasps right to where your honey is, to traps which as they fill become less and less effective, so the scout wasps go right back to the nest and bring another few hundred which won't be killed by the rapidly-filling traps.

So I guess my question is - it looks REALLY cool, but do you see any wasps entering and robbing any more?

Neil.

VEG said:

Why place them under the hive surely this would attract them to the hive. Wouldnt it be better to place them further away from the hives?

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The wasps are already around my hive. By placing further away, they are robbing the hive, not being caught in the trap. The traps I have away from the hive do not get anywhere near as many as the ones at the heart of the problem. I was prompted to take action because of the increased wasps activity around the hives. I don't believe that the traps attract more, but are helping to reduce those that are visiting anyway.

Dave.

redpola said:

When I asked about traps I was directed to this excellent thread which really is worth spending a couple of hours reading through: http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5818

What you're doing seems to be at odds with the information there - you're attracting thousands of wasps right to where your honey is, to traps which as they fill become less and less effective, so the scout wasps go right back to the nest and bring another few hundred which won't be killed by the rapidly-filling traps.

So I guess my question is - it looks REALLY cool, but do you see any wasps entering and robbing any more?

Neil.

Click to expand...

Neil, thanks for your comments. I can see what you are saying. However before the traps and when the traps were full, (i was on hold for a week) there were lots around the hive. The traps are drawing those away from the hives and containing them from returning with reinforcements. In my opinion, these are helping, however I am no expert, and can only suggest that all keepers try and manage any wasps problem as they see fit. Honey is still robbed, but by less wasps than there were before I had the traps in place. My hives are not amazingly strong following the swarm season. Maybe a stronger colony would be able to protect better.

Dave.

davemacdon said:

My home made wasp trap design.
Made using info from the beekeeping forum.

Tesco cheap squash bottle or similar.

Cut top off, remove lid and invert over base.



Partially fill the bottom (over gravel but below upturned lid) with 1:2 sugar water solution, vinegar and a spoon of jam.


The vinegar stops the bees from wanting to drink from it!!

Good luck

Dave.

Click to expand...

Can you be more specific about the recipe? I've tried this design of trap with watered down jam but caught nothing apart from a few flies

How much vinegar to sugar water have you used?

I use 1.1 sugar water - spoon jam and few drops of vinegar and few drops washing up liquid

Two things - here in France we use cheap beer - wasps love beer - bees hate it. Also if you can, cut a second bottle in half lengthways, cut off the shaped top bit and then suspend this long half curved bottle over the top of the trap, held in place by cocktails sticks to form a roof. when it rains the beer solution does not get watered down and wasps can enter curved top roof in all weathers.

I have noticed so many dead and dying wasps on our decking. They come to the pond to drink and our decking goes out over the pond. And I assumed something in the water was affecting them. However the fish are fine and no other dead bugs on decking - no bees dead etc. So what was causing it. This has gone on for days now. Yesterday during the hot spell I finally worked it out. A new picket fence from mole valley farmers, placed around the pond to prevent someone falling in held the answer. It's not been painted but tanalised. And the wasps were munching it like they do ordinary sheet fencing to convert to wasp nest material. As I watched they landed, munched, the they seemed to be walking aimlessly and then they took off but they all got as far as the decking then fell out of the sky. Writhed around for a half hour until curling up. Never seen it before although I have often heard the scraping noise when they are chewing a panel fence. But they can't stomach the tanalised wood. Oh and i grow quite a few herbs on the decking. And chive flowers are second to none at attracting wasps. Omg the chive flowers look like some weird kind of stripey flower instead of lavender.

Lidl have some wasp traps that work on the same basis as the home made ones, the difference is that they can be hung and have coned entrances at the top and bottom
They are now reduced from 2.99 to 1.49 I bought some yesterday to try

davemacdon said:

My home made wasp trap design.
Made using info from the beekeeping forum.

Tesco cheap squash bottle or similar.

Cut top off, remove lid and invert over base.

Place gravel in bottom to steady in windy conditions.

Partially fill the bottom (over gravel but below upturned lid) with 1:2 sugar water solution, vinegar and a spoon of jam.

Place in sheltered location to prevent rain filling up bottle.

Under hive has worked well for me with small bottles. Large ones under table frame for top bar hive (still to be built).

Watch the wasps fill up and drown.

Once full, empty whole of contents and replace upturned lid with new wasp recipe - start again.

Hope this helps others. I have loads of wasps around my hives this year and this is definately getting rid of some.

The vinegar stops the bees from wanting to drink from it!!

Good luck

Dave.

Click to expand...

Not to come across as pedantic but the bottles used in the project have given the retail outlets which will not hee named again a freebie where advertising is concerned, maybee they could contribute towards the Varroa problem instead of creating many of their own by simply existing.