Trapping hornets with a glue sheet

[Malcolm B.]

Good evening,
You may like to have a look at these short videos from Japan demonstrating the way some beekeepers are dealing with hornets.
(English subtitles are available if you don't speak Japanese)
I'd be interested to see your thoughts and comments regarding this method.

Outsmarting the Giant Hornets: Beekeeper's Innovative Method to Protect Honeybees

Capturing Japanese giant hornets with a glue sheet

Why are giant hornets poking their heads into this beehive?

Malcolm B.

 

[Swarm]

Pretty indiscriminate device for killing any hapless little creature.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Good evening,
You may like to have a look at these short videos from Japan demonstrating the way some beekeepers are dealing with hornets.
(English subtitles are available if you don't speak Japanese)
I'd be interested to see your thoughts and comments regarding this method.

Outsmarting the Giant Hornets: Beekeeper's Innovative Method to Protect Honeybees

Capturing Japanese giant hornets with a glue sheet

Why are giant hornets poking their heads into this beehive?

Malcolm B.

There was lots of talk about these years ago when I first joined and was a new beekeeper. Stupidly I tried one. It caught a lot of flies and a blue tit trying to get at the flies.
I was so ashamed of myself.
Swarm is spot on. They kill other things.

 

[The Poot]

Is there a problem with Japanese GIANT hornets in Lincolnshire?
I agree with Swarm.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Even if Asian hornets do get a foothold on our shores, there are many better and less indiscriminate methods of dealing with them. But at the moment, our native hornets need help not persecution.
An awful instrument to use

 

[Malcolm B.]

I fully agree. I didn't know the opinion of the good folks on here, hence the rather guarded initial question.
Seeing the hornets writhing and trying to free themselves from the sticky mess reminded me of the barbaric industry many years ago of Fur Trapping!

We had hornets in the wall of an old outbuilding some years ago. They never bothered us or the bees, although since we were in a low-lying area and had a pond nearby, they probably spent their time munching mosquitos and other small insects. We left them alone - and they left us alone. We were never even 'warned' when working close to their nest.

M.B.

 

[Beth]

Absolutely not and I think they're illegal now? They should be. I caught a robin in one the loft years ago, I had put the glue traps out for a rat.

What a cruel, horrific way for any creature to die, whether hornet or rat.

 

[Ian123]

Absolutely not and I think they're illegal now? They should be. I caught a robin in one the loft years ago, I had put the glue traps out for a rat.

What a cruel, horrific way for any creature to die, whether hornet or rat.

I saw the video a couple of months ago and was going to post but got sidetracked.
I’m rather partial to hornets and certainly don’t begrudge the small number of bees they take. I do tend to take a dim view of wasps though and in late season will certainly use traps to reduce numbers and protect hives. I will go as far as to even leave nests in the garden until such time as they start to become a nuisance.
Admittedly the odd hornet does find its way into bottle type traps!
I wouldn’t condemn those using them in areas Jap/Asian hornets live that would decimate hives though, providing measures are taken to prevent other wild life finding a sticky end.

When I saw the video I did wondered if traps could be adapted for wasps though and perhaps even for areas like Jersey/Guernsey.
The law does state
1)”Aperson who sets a glue trap in England for the purpose of catching a rodent commits an offence. (2)A person who sets a glue trap in England in a manner which gives rise to a risk that a rodent will become caught in the glue trap commits an offence.”

So they are not illegal to sell or to use for the purpose of insects.
The onus is obviously on the individual though to ensure no rodents have access to the traps.
On that matter I’d think 1 of those clear plastic stacking type boxes with clip on lid could be used, trap could be laid inside and lid clipped and weighed. For access I’d melt 10-12mm holes in the side just under lid rim to prevent water ingress, I’d then assume you could bait the trap for your chosen insect be it wasp or Asian hornet!
On that basis I wonder if they could have some use in Jersey or Europe.

I would certainly think for wasps though that by the time you went to the trouble and expense there are easier cheaper options, like a simple high efficiency home made bottle trap

 

[Pembroke]

The problem I have with them is they're just glue. they tire the insect to exhaustion and death, the lucky ones 'drown' in the glue. Why the sticky stuff doesn't have a poison in it is never explained.

Rentokil sell their sunflower traps for insects, and the traditional fly paper are all similar devices and presumably not illegal in this country?

 

[bingevader]

I’m rather partial to hornets

with some fava beans and a nice Chianti?

 

[GaryH]

This glue trap thread reminded me of a natural but equally cruel demise of a large ( probably Queen) wasp:

In my garden shed in spring I heard this squealing buzz and turned to see what was making this seemingly desperate noise. The squealing, high pitched buzz was being made by a Queen Wasp being engulfed on a large spider’s web. The spider circled the struggling wasp using its forelimbs, wrapping the doomed insect up in a tighter and tighter parcel, carefully avoiding the deadly, venomous sting which was pulsating, twisting and searching for a target. The screaming wasp now cocooned in a straight jacket of sticky web, was condemned. I continued to watch in awe as the victorious spider now maintained a safe distance from its not inconsiderable adversary and waited until the hapless Yellowjacket was exhausted. The spider then darted out of the safety of its hole with attacking fervour and injected its deadly venom behind the wasps thorax seemingly oblivious to the pitiful screeching from the now hopeless wasp the noise crescendoed to a sudden silence as the spider’s venom paralysed the wasp’s nervous system and blended its insides. The victorious spider then proceeded to calmly suck out the the resulting soup.
An example of the cruel reality of life and death in natural selection.
Glue traps however are completely unnatural.