Wasp traps

[Julie in Ash]

Take a clear empty plastic bottle and cut the top off. Stick it upside down as per picture below, you can see how effective they are. Make several and hang them where you are getting wasp problems. The cheap lager and jam are mixed together and put into the bottom and act as an attractant for wasps but not bees. These high efficiency traps don't allow any wasps to escape and cost you pennies to make. Of course people with a personal interest in selling you expensive traps will deride these cheaper efficient alternatives so I'd take what they say with a large pinch of salt. Adding a few already dead wasps to them is something worth trying.

Thank you very much, Beefriendly. That's what I was looking for. Not just for around my (future) hives but I get pestered by them at home as we are surrounded by apple and pear farms and come late summer they terrorise us in our own garden. I shall definitely try this idea.

 

[Millet]

Thank you very much, Beefriendly. That's what I was looking for. Not just for around my (future) hives but I get pestered by them at home as we are surrounded by apple and pear farms and come late summer they terrorise us in our own garden. I shall definitely try this idea.

They are also a nuisance on the strawberry beds.. it is not uncommon to disturb them on the strawberries that the mice/voles have opened up..

 

[Karol]

Pop bottle traps are low efficiency traps that allow wasps to escape to recruit more wasps so you get traps that attract more wasps than they kill:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMz6ypzJKOM

52 seconds in and wasps can be seen escaping. The stick used to prod the wasps back into the trap I believe comes as an extra.

These two clips have something in common. More wasps outside of the traps than inside them, i.e. attracting more wasps than they kill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXmzOnaFQNs (Three minutes 30 seconds in).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLsjndNW56k

In both cases the people filming are clearly uncomfortable in the vicinity of the traps.

 

[Julie in Ash]

Pop bottle traps are low efficiency traps that allow wasps to escape to recruit more wasps so you get traps that attract more wasps than they kill:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMz6ypzJKOM

52 seconds in and wasps can be seen escaping. The stick used to prod the wasps back into the trap I believe comes as an extra.

These two clips have something in common. More wasps outside of the traps than inside them, i.e. attracting more wasps than they kill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXmzOnaFQNs (Three minutes 30 seconds in).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLsjndNW56k

In both cases the people filming are clearly uncomfortable in the vicinity of the traps.

Thank you, Karol

I looked at those clips and believe there's flaws with all of them in the construction and the location. I wouldn't dream of putting anything like that near my house! Or too near my hives for that matter. And why the fudge would you poke at it with a stick!!

I may not have much experience of trapping either Bees or Wasps, but I've been trapping farm cats (for medical treatment, neutering and release) for over 30 years. It must run into thousands by now. I have seen technology advances I couldn't have dreamt about when I first started. The basic principals never change - to trap a cat you have to first lure it. I imagine it's the same with wasps. A trap surrounded by dozens of wasps is effective as a lure. And while they are buzzing around that, they are not buzzing around me! Some will get killed, others won't. Some cats get trapped first attempt, others take a bit more cunning and inventiveness...

All I asked was how do you make one of these bottle traps and Beefriendly answered, thank you. I would not depend 100% on any one method but this bottle idea is worth trying for the craic and I'll hang one from the tree down the bottom of my garden and see what happens. I won't be poking at it though.

 

[Karol]

The answer to your question Julie is plumes and recruitment!

Wasps follow scent trails on the wind. Your hives and fruit will create plumes all the time. If wasps make it to the end of a plume you get swarm feeding. Adding another plume by way of a low efficiency trap won't help. Sometimes you have to trap at the very source of the plume you're trying to protect, e.g. at the very entrance to the hive. Entirely feasible and very effective if using a high efficiency trap but disastrous otherwise.

 

[beebopper]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMz6ypzJKOM

52 seconds in and wasps can be seen escaping. The stick used to prod the wasps back into the trap I believe comes as an extra.

I see no stick used to prod wasp back in - the wasp goes back in and then there is an image of somebody flicking the side of the trap. The stick is seen before the 52 sec point and is simply somebody pushing wasp in - nothing to do with escaping wasp.

Typical you see what you want to see and hope nobody looks.

 

[beebopper]

Thank you, Karol

I looked at those clips and believe there's flaws with all of them in the construction and the location. I wouldn't dream of putting anything like that near my house! Or too near my hives for that matter. And why the fudge would you poke at it with a stick!!

I may not have much experience of trapping either Bees or Wasps, but I've been trapping farm cats (for medical treatment, neutering and release) for over 30 years. It must run into thousands by now. I have seen technology advances I couldn't have dreamt about when I first started. The basic principals never change - to trap a cat you have to first lure it. I imagine it's the same with wasps. A trap surrounded by dozens of wasps is effective as a lure. And while they are buzzing around that, they are not buzzing around me! Some will get killed, others won't. Some cats get trapped first attempt, others take a bit more cunning and inventiveness...

All I asked was how do you make one of these bottle traps and Beefriendly answered, thank you. I would not depend 100% on any one method but this bottle idea is worth trying for the craic and I'll hang one from the tree down the bottom of my garden and see what happens. I won't be poking at it though.

Use a large bottle and make the trap with the bottle lid on. Drill small 0.5 cm diameter holes in the lid. Much more difficult for any wasp to escape.

 

[Julie in Ash]

Use a large bottle and make the trap with the bottle lid on. Drill small 0.5 cm diameter holes in the lid. Much more difficult for any wasp to escape.

Yes I was thinking that when I watched those clips. I have seen - first hand - a honey Bee trap out. Wild hive had grown inside a tree near to my husband's industrial unit. Not feasible to cut the tree down. They make a cone out of mesh with a very narrow entrance point and seal it over the hive entrance with expanding foam. Set a baited brood box nearby. Bees come out, can't get back, then find the brood box as a new home. I sat and watched it work for hours and not one Bee got back into the hive while I was there. So reverse that principal. The trap entrance has to be small, not much bigger than a wasp width and I reckon a lot more wasps would be trapped. Hence I asked about the bait earlier because the correct bait is the very key to success... Cats like KFC Chicken in the traps! Works every time.

[The answer to your question Julie is plumes and recruitment!]

What's your suggestion, then, Karol? For an alternative to this simple idea? I've seen you tell people they are wrong but not seen what you *are* advocating and why... I'm all for giving people an open hearing and I can make my own mind up but it isn't clear to me what your solution is to keep these swines away from my house. Going back through the treads all I see is bickering and life's too short etc.

 

[Ian123]

Hi Julie try the bottle trap as bf suggests the only thing I would do is use a large bottle and ensure edges are sealed with duct tape they work and have set up loads.. if they are not as effective as commercial 1s then drink more water/coke. In fairness I can’t remember seeing any escape and if they are full of dead wasps they are working well enough. And it’s all well and good others just saying keep strong hives but when you have an apiary with 50 nucs and apideas then you don’t take chances

 

[TooBee...]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMz6ypzJKOM

52 seconds in and wasps can be seen escaping. The stick used to prod the wasps back into the trap I believe comes as an extra.

I see no stick used to prod wasp back in - the wasp goes back in and then there is an image of somebody flicking the side of the trap. The stick is seen before the 52 sec point and is simply somebody pushing wasp in - nothing to do with escaping wasp.

Typical you see what you want to see and hope nobody looks.

You must be watching a different video to the one you linked to, I saw a stick ... being used to prod wasps back down into the trap, and I saw wasps escaping from it... pretty straight forward?!?!?

 

[Beefriendly]

Julie...to bring you up to speed Karol is a partner in a company that manufacture very expensive wasp traps. He is hardly likely to endorse a product made from something you would normally recycle that costs pence and is probably just, if not more, effective.
In fact his job is to denigrate any other type of trap as being ineffective. Something he turns up here annually to do.

 

[TooBee...]

...to bring you up to speed Karol is a partner in a company that manufacture very expensive wasp traps...

You're referring to this are you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCCSvQhwJtA

 

[Beefriendly]

I'd rather not refer to anything that peddles their very expensive products.

 

[Julie in Ash]

Julie...to bring you up to speed Karol is a partner in a company that manufacture very expensive wasp traps. He is hardly likely to endorse a product made from something you would normally recycle that costs pence and is probably just, if not more, effective.
In fact his job is to denigrate any other type of trap as being ineffective. Something he turns up here annually to do.

Having looked up the name of this trap following the link Beetoo posted, (thank you Beetoo), I can see a couple of issues which might be causing unease with some people.

I had heard this trap mentioned elsewhere but not looked into it before. I have now done some rudimentary reading and looking at prices etc. Karol, I think there's claims made on the company website I could not find any peer review support for linked from your website. Is there any? Something from a major UK Uni would do, comparing your product against a home made one. Favourable results just might sell me (the prices are a bit strong though!).

Also, the idea of an annual 'bait chamber' renewal cost makes it feel a bit like the annual Microsoft Grotware "Bill Gates' Private Jet Fund" penalty. One should pay a price for a product and that should be the end of it. What's in this magic bait compartment I wonder? Or is that probably a trade secret like the Colonel's 11 herbs and spices??

The bottom line is there are some people for whom this would be seen as a convenient thing to try to avoid going all Blue Peter and Tracy Island. Good luck to them. Free country. For me I'd like to see a proper independent study that it's better at trapping wasps than anything I could rig. 'There are too many claims and too many statistics on that website and it feels forced in areas to me. I'm not convinced.. my stepson is an analytical chemist. He's taught me to question everyone and everything before making a decision. Where's your outside testing results and who did the testing?

 

[Karol]

...snip...
What's your suggestion, then, Karol? For an alternative to this simple idea? I've seen you tell people they are wrong but not seen what you *are* advocating and why... I'm all for giving people an open hearing and I can make my own mind up but it isn't clear to me what your solution is to keep these swines away from my house. Going back through the treads all I see is bickering and life's too short etc.

Sorry Julie. Forum rules prevent me from promoting my product and it is a rule that I have always observed.

The truth is that effective wasp control around hives requires more than just a trap. It requires a detailed understanding of wasp behaviour and breadth of knowledge on integrated wasp management. It is in these areas that I try to help. Wasps are not mammals and have very specific traits that have to be exploited in different ways. So your analogy of using KFC doesn't translate to wasps. The bait in wasp traps is a marginal issue. You can't improve the performance of a trap beyond it's physical limitations. The scent trail will be the scent trail and it won't magically attract wasps that don't come across the trail.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

You're referring to this are you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCCSvQhwJtA

Also on you tube is this early/mid season protein feeding trap https://youtu.be/ng-ylBN43PA

 

[Karol]

Having looked up the name of this trap following the link Beetoo posted, (thank you Beetoo), I can see a couple of issues which might be causing unease with some people.

I had heard this trap mentioned elsewhere but not looked into it before. I have now done some rudimentary reading and looking at prices etc. Karol, I think there's claims made on the company website I could not find any peer review support for linked from your website. Is there any? Something from a major UK Uni would do, comparing your product against a home made one. Favourable results just might sell me (the prices are a bit strong though!).

Also, the idea of an annual 'bait chamber' renewal cost makes it feel a bit like the annual Microsoft Grotware "Bill Gates' Private Jet Fund" penalty. One should pay a price for a product and that should be the end of it. What's in this magic bait compartment I wonder? Or is that probably a trade secret like the Colonel's 11 herbs and spices??

The bottom line is there are some people for whom this would be seen as a convenient thing to try to avoid going all Blue Peter and Tracy Island. Good luck to them. Free country. For me I'd like to see a proper independent study that it's better at trapping wasps than anything I could rig. 'There are too many claims and too many statistics on that website and it feels forced in areas to me. I'm not convinced.. my stepson is an analytical chemist. He's taught me to question everyone and everything before making a decision. Where's your outside testing results and who did the testing?

Julie, with all due respect I'm being drawn down the path of defending the product which I have no wish to do on this forum. I'm not promoting or trying to convince you to buy the product. I'm happy to give advice on a take it or leave it basis on the wider issue of integrated wasp management which includes making beekeepers aware of the perils of certain actions that increase risk to their hives.

I will however rise to the challenge of independent peer review by universities. It is purely a matter of principle that I have actively chosen not to seek endorsement by universities and if it hurts my product I frankly don't care. Why? Because I have no wish to prostitute myself to an institution that will do my bidding for money. And I talk here from wider experience. Contrary to what some have said on here I'm not just a snake skin oil seller. It's good that your step son has taught you forensic skills in decision making but that only works if you have access to all the necessary information. The truth is that universities publish only a fraction of their research (circa 18%) and hide the rest that isn't flattering either to their reputation or their intention. Furthermore, they operate an unhealthy monopoly on information that not only actively seeks to usurp and monopolise intellectual property but also sees Chancellors earn close on £500k per annum whilst sucking the life blood out of our youth at £9000 per annum all the while denying those students access to the high class research facilities that their fees entitle them to.

Don't get me wrong. My professional career has been rooted in scientific research which has had oversight by independent regulatory bodies and the most important independent critics - real customers. I'm a firm believer that proof comes with the eating. Would you prefer to have an endorsement from a university that has been paid for the endorsement or from a customer who has no agenda other than to be truly satisfied?

 

[Julie in Ash]

Well Karol we seem to have reached an impasse. Yes I do need to see peer review of a product that costs that much and I will not rely on the claims of a manufacturer alone. I find it sad and regretful you get called names. There's no need. I wish you well in your endeavours but I have seen nothing which inclines me to take your product on faith alone, which is what I'd be being asked to do. Good luck anyway. x

 

[Millet]

It's hard from reading this to judge whether you believe in your own product or not. I assume you do and must have reasons for doing so.

People ask me to go deal with cat issues because they lack the knowledge or will to devote time and effort to study the problem and deal with it themselves. The end game is trapping cats. I know how to do it, they don't and so they call me. So when I am being asked to cough up the readies for a contraption, it needs to be more effective than one I could make myself... that's all I was saying. Perhaps yours is? I'd just to see the science. I don't need to understand wasp behaviour because I am paying someone else to do that by way of purchasing a product from the experts. Am I not?

I am sure Heriott Watt or John Moores would gladly peer review your product against a home made one under controlled conditions. It needs to be much more controlled than the haphazard outdoor 'test' shown on your website. If the scientists find it more effective than anything I could make at home then it will sell itself. Good luck either way!

Don't buy one as it is not needed ..

 

[Karol]

Well Karol we seem to have reached an impasse. Yes I do need to see peer review of a product that costs that much and I will not rely on the claims of a manufacturer alone. I find it sad and regretful you get called names. There's no need. I wish you well in your endeavours but I have seen nothing which inclines me to take your product on faith alone, which is what I'd be being asked to do. Good luck anyway. x

I don't recall 'asking' you to do anything. I go back to my advice that I gave previously which is that trapping should only be considered if needed. Too frequently beekeepers will deploy low efficiency traps prematurely without taking other more appropriate steps first.

I'm not only a snakeskin oil seller I'm also a heretic. Wasps are incredibly valuable as an insect ecologically so we shouldn't look to eradicate them first line when there are other options available to us to try first.

There will always however be situations where even the healthiest of bee hives get overwhelmed and in those situations effective trapping becomes a necessity. Hopefully that will be something that you don't experience.

Good luck.