Q&A for How to Make a Wasp Trap

Yes, it's the same concept. As long as the hole for the opening is pointing down, most of the wasps will never figure out how to get out. Also, if you add apple juice with a bit of vinegar to it, honey bees will never go in. I am a beekeeper. The wasps and hornets like the decaying smell of vinegar and the bees do not. Wasps fly forward and you will see them bouncing off the sides.They cannot hover and go straight up where they came from. Eventually they get exhausted and fall into the liquid.

I would not recommend it. The smell would be really bad and would attract other animals such as skunks or raccoons to the trap.

It is possible for them to escape. Also the article says, "Do not place the trap anywhere near where children or pets will be spending time, as living wasps will be attracted by the trap.".

You'll have to watch closely. I had the same problem with wasps in my cabin; it turned out they were coming from small grooves between the wood paneling. Check around the room for any possible openings or holes where the wasps might be entering. (Especially check near your windows.)

No, if you bait the trap with beer or meat, the honeybees will not be interested.

Use raw meat in the early part of the season, or if you are using a liquid, add some vinegar to it, as bees do not like sweet & sour.

Just place the trap away from nests and the bath and I think it should work!

You should not kill bees. This is a wasp trap. Wasps do not produce honey and are often aggressive.

During the day, determine which nests have wasps. Get a can of wasp spray and a flashlight. Go out at night and spray the active nests starting with the highest or hardest to get to - the wasps will fall down but they will not fly. Knock down all the dead nests so the wasps will rebuild next year where the nests are easy to find rather than hiding them somewhere else!

It's okay. Just place the trap where the wasps are most active. They can travel miles to find food.

Remove it at night. Wasps go to sleep at night. First pour water in to make sure they're dead.

You could try to mix bleach and some water together, put the mixture in a sprayer, and spray them with it. After they fall, spray them with wasp killer.

Use a chemical (wasp) killer. Typically they recommend spraying the nest in the evening, after the wasps have returned. If the wasps are too hostile, use a professional exterminator, detailing locations of suspected wasp nests.

It should. Just put the trap in the attic and see. I'd recommend just going up in to the attic and killing them with wasp killer, or hiring an exterminator if it's really bad.

Yes, vinegar will work for a trap.

Some can. If the stinger is attached and you come into contact with it (by stepping on it, or grabbing it), some wasps and bees can still sting, even if they are dead.

Wasps do travel to find food, but usually not more than 1000 yards. If they can't find food closer, you may get the occasional one.

Set up the trap at night when they are asleep so you won’t get stung.

Maybe hang a crumpled brown paper bag below or beside it so that they think it's another wasp nest, and they won't approach it.

Let them be; they will not hurt you and are great pollinators.

While you can stand the trap on a small table or stool, the trap actually works best when hanging at least 4 feet (1.2 m) in the air. Try hanging the trap from a tree branch that your children cannot reach. If you do not have tree in your yard, then consider hanging it from a high fence post. Since the trap will be attracting wasps, you don’t want to place it in an area close to where your children frequently play. A good distance would be about 27 feet (8.2 m) away from your main gathering area outside.

Meat is the best choice in the spring and late winter because wasps are making nests and laying eggs, so they're searching for high protein food; you may even catch a queen this way.

Add water to the trap when they are in it. They will drown. Adding soap to the water will plug up their air holes and they will suffocate.

It could. The wasps can escape the trap so it is in fact quite possible. The children may also play with it, which could also harm them. Also, given the bait, the wasps will be around and could harm the children.

I find it works best if you use raw meat traps for the first month or two of spring.

It should. Also, if you don't want to trap the bees, use vinegar. Bees don't like sweet and sour.

It doesn't really matter how high, as long as it's out of reach, so you don't constantly run into it. You can set this trap on a table as long as people don't play with it (specifically kids).

The smaller inverted bottle opening is hard for them to find again. It is possible for them to escape, but not very likely.

You can try using other bait, such as sweet fruits, honey, etc. The wasps in your area might be attracted to sweet foods instead of meat.

It might; try it and see. If it doesn’t work, you’ve just wasted very little on materials. If it does work, then you’ve found a solution to your problem.