How to Trap Yellow Jackets / Wasps & Lure Them Away From Birds
by
Adele Kurtz
5 Materials
$1
15 Minutes
Easy
We had happy hummingbirds until the Yellow Jackets came swarming to their feeders. I did my research and tried a few tricks, including putting pennies in a plastic baggie with water and making a fake paper-bag nest to activate their territorial fears. These are not bad tricks -- but they seem to also scare the hummies away.
Moving the feeders into shadier spots also reduced the wasps, but I couldn't see them as well from my window.
The best attack was to LURE Them AWAY with Sweeter Aromas... into a trap where they could not easily get out.
I caught over 100 very quickly.
Here's how:
Yellowjackets are stinging wasps who usually show up in August and love to join us for outdoor snacks. Sweets and meats are their favorites. I don't want the smell of rotten meat around, so I'll make a tasty trap from old fruit, strawberry preserves, apple cider vinegar + the same sugar water they are attracted to in our hummingbird feeders.
Now they can enjoy their own specially prepared treats near the feeders, but away from my birds.
I love Talenti Gelato and have lots of these plastic jars around. Feel free to experiment with whatever you have on hand.
I made three traps.
I cut the lids with a knife, leaving the cut outs pressing in toward the inside of the jar.
I smeared a tablespoon or more of strawberry preserves inside the lids and around the insides of the jars to entice them.
I mix a tasty old fruit cocktail using whatever I old fruit I have on hand. In this case: old cherries and pineapple rind, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
Then fill container to mid-way with sugar water (one part sugar to 4 parts water same as hummingbird recipe) In fact I reuse their old stuff when I give birds fresh sugar water.
I set them outside, one on deck ground.... which also attracts ants
Two on ledges near feeders.
You can bring these to your picnics and set them out to lure wasps away from your lunch too.
The results?
On a hot day the wasps came immediately to the traps before I could even set them down.
On cloudy days their activity drops to a fraction anyway. (That's why it's best to pick cloudy days for August picnics too.)
A couple days later (one hot, one cloudy) I found from 15 to over 50 caught in each trap.
The least effective had only one puncture in the lid -- maybe that's why.
The most effective had two triangular punctures.
The third (speared from a can-opener) was placed on the deck under the feeder where it attracted lots of ants too (who had been taking advantage of sugar water spills from the feeder.)
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2 comments
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That's a great remedy idea, thank you!
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Thanks for the tips. I now live in a retirement community and I am going to have to try this.
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