What is best to put in a Wasp Catcher?

Question

Last year I tryed sugar and water mixed but it didn't work too well. I have a couple of friends who are terrified of wasps but then it is quite funny watching them when one comes near! Thanks

Answer 1

Try a diluted maple syrup in water. Honey in water works well too. ;)

Answer 2

Wasp Catcher

Answer 3

Before setting up the wasp catcher, remember this. Wasps serve a very useful purpose in the garden and elsewhere. In the vegetable garden, they attach their larvae on tomato horn worm and other pest caterpillars that will eat the vegetable leaves rather quickly when undeterred. Wasps also eat spiders and lots of flies. Unless someone is in danger of being stung, please try to leave them be. If you must catch them for safety sake though, there are bee/wasp catcher jars available in mail order catalogs for anywhere from $5-$15. The jar has a cork in the top, an opening in the bottom the size of a quarter, and you put about 1/4 to 1/2" of sweet water or jelly. Set the jar down on a level surface away from children and pets so no one gets stung and the wasps will go to the jar. They climb in and can't get out. I also use this jar for catching fruit flies, house flies and any kind of ants. These jars are one of my most valuable outside tools and I use them every year. The corks are long worn out so I tape the top now.

Answer 4

Wasps start the year as Queens which have overwintered. If you are plagued by wasps then the nests nearby will produce about a dozen queens a year which if 50% survive the winter will be a nuisance this summer. Look for the early queens in the spring in the garden as they will be solitary and needing to forage for their offspring. Carrying a can of fly killer on a warm spring sunny day and using it on large wasps which are feeding on flowers can have almost total results for the entire summer. The best source for the killer jam jar is squashed up soft fruit in a lemonade mix. Use a jar with holes in the lid that are big enough for the wasps to get into. Make the holes with a large nail from the outside of the lid. This leaves a jagged edge on the inside that makes it harder for the wasps to get out of if they try.

Answer 5

There are professional baits, some of them work, some don't, Most smell after a time. If your catcher is the kind that the wasps fly in, but cannot leave. ( The best kind) I use a piece of Dove soap. Something about the fragrance is enticing to wasps, especially Red wasps! Honey bees will also be attracted to it, I put pieces of Dove in the garden at the base of tomato plants and squash plants to attract honey bees. An old timer gave me this idea, He used Cashmere Bouquet soap.

Answer 6

Best Wasp Trap

Answer 7

I use an old jam jar with a hole in the lid large enough for a wasp to enter. Not too big or they can depart again. Leave about a teaspoon of jam in the jar and quarter fill with cold water. Leave outside away from your open windows and doors and watch it fill up. Be careful emptying it if any are still alive as they will not be happy bunnies!!!

Answer 8

As wasps seem to like your friends put one of them in the catcher

Answer 9

We use a cheap pop or iced tea from a powder mix. Catch lots of wasps this way.

Answer 10

Instead of catching them and killing them why not deter them? Wasps hate citronella. Buy a few citronella candles (you can also buy the citronella sticks from garden centres that you put into the ground at various points) and put them around your garden. By putting things out like sugar to catch them you are only encouraging more of them to come into your garden!

I know they can be a nuisance, but they've as much right to be in your garden as you! We had a huge (the size of a rugby ball) nest last year in our garden and we left it be. No problems, not one sting! You respect them and they'll respect you.

Answer 11

Try jam or anything sticky and sweet. Just watch wasps around children eating ice lollies.