Hornets

[plumber]

Question for MJbee

has any one tryed a trap that supplys a food (catapillars) in a tray.
placed in a box/container with a loose curtain which the Hornets can enter
and leave bye as they brush the curtain they could pick up a contact pioson.
no ideal how you would keep the bait in there.
would be intreasted if it's been tryed.
Have seen Wasps nicking a dogs chicken out it's bowl there was a steady stream of them.

 

[MJBee]

Yep could work two potential problems come to mind - 1. the bait is likely to walk away! dead bait would have to be changed daily. 2. Not too keen to have a poison covered curtain a bit indiscriminate.

The plastic bottle traps I use are cheap, easy to make and the bait gives off a scent which actually attracts wasps and hornets but not bees. The only non target species I have caught have been a few moths and fruit flies.

Regards Mike

 

[plumber]

hi MJbee

As I understand wasp life cycle adult wasps/hornets need a suger food which the larva excrete in exchange for protein ie caterpillers,
the only times adults need to scorce suger is late in the year after the nest breaks up, and early when the Queen is building up the nest.
If it was possible to kill the adult population, robbing at year end would be reduced, if the adults take the poison back and that finds it's way the Queen
there would be no robbing at year end.
Nearest thing I can think off is Nippon which Ants take this finds it's way to the Queen killing the nest.
if the bait was poisoned and fed to the larva then to the adults and Queen.
poisoned wax moth catapillers as bait has poetic ring to it.

 

[merylvingien]

Nippon is a consumer product and isnt really strong enough to kill off a large wasp nest. The stuff that pest controllers use is stronger than nippon and applied in a different fashion.
Having it yards away trying to contiminate individual wasps will not work, or it certainly will not work efficiently.

The best thing to do is locate the nest and kill it properly. And dont forget that if you do bait up any form of wasp trap with nippon and use a sweet lure to get the wasps into it, you are also risking contaminating your bees.