Trouble with Wasps?
August is Wasp season. Where we live we will have several of the annoying and dangerous little visitors during any meal in the kitchen, and especially on the balcony. We live on a fifth floor in a city, so locating and destroying the nests isn?t really an option. I must do something, however, since I am allergic to wasp stings, and I don?t want my toddler to get stung either. I saw this trick in a public square in Luxembourg. It?s a cheap and safe wasp trap.
[[Image:Wasp01.jpg]][[Image:Wasp02.jpg]]
You simply cut a PET water bottle in two, just below where the taper starts, turn the top upside down and drop it into the bottom section. Add some fruit juice, and voila! The wasps will fly in, but can?t get out. The coolest thing is that the trap only catches wasps and the odd housefly. I have yet to see a honeybee or bumblebee in the trap.
Tweaks: Almost any plastic bottle will work, but larger mouthed drink bottles seem to collect the wasps faster. As far as bait, almost any fruit juice works, but the the most effective thing I have tried (at least for German wasps)is sparkling cider from Normandy. Since I can?t always get it (and prefer to drink it myself!), I substitute a mix of apple juice and seltzer water (Apfelschoerle, as the Germans call it). I also throw in a bit of wine yeast, as fermentation gases definitely help. For North Americans, unpasturized cider should do the trick on its own, and the less fresh the better! Just use the dregs you would normally throw out. Also, the alcohol will drastically shorten the suffering of the wasps, if you are the squeemish type. One last tweak: Poking small holes in the top will release more aroma and increase effectiveness. I refresh the traps weekly. What you see in the bottom pic is one day's catch!
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Enjoy!
HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
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