Yellow Jackets

Hey All- Last year when we got to our deer camp some archery hunters had left a couple milk jug traps loaded with dead yellow jackets. The jugs were cut with a small opening near the top for the yellow jackets to get into, so what draws the yellow jackets into the trap and then what kills em?

Something sweet pulls them in. A little syrup or sugar water inside the jug. Once inside they can't find the entrance again and exhaust themselves hitting the sides of the hug. Bill Van Houten (USA Ret)

Thermopylae had it's messenger of defeat, COME AND GET THEM ! The Alamo had none.

Bait can be a commercial lure or you can make your own. Suspend either a small chuck of meat or some sugar based substance (raspberry jam, either smeared on a rag or enclosed in some sort of netting, works particularly well) from the cap so that it hangs slightly above the holes. I would cut the holes about 1/3 of the way down from the top rather than near the top though, and liter pop bottles will work too .

Fill the jug about halfway to the holes with water, to which you add just a dash of detergent. The yellow jackets will come to the bait, fill themselves so they have trouble flying, and fall into the water. The detergent breaks the surface tension (or some-such thing) of their skeleton and they drown. I've also heard that adding a dash of vinegar to the water helps but I don't know why, nor have we found it necessary.

The nice thing about this method, in addition to not costing anything, is it only will attract yellow jackets, not honey bees.

Skip

Skip & Christy Hensler THE ROCK GARDEN Newport, WA

I've been reloading a cheap commercial trap with sugar water with a few tablespoons of wine. Meat, fruit etc are said to work. These traps draw the yellowjackets and flies in to the food and they are too stupid to go out the way they got in. They either drown or run themselves down and die.

Anything for Wasps and or Hornets? I hate those little boogers!

You can use soda pop or apple juice.

I have used beer with good results , but have also seen friends use sugar water and soured fruit. Beer traps seem to fill up faster though. Can't imagine why , since it's sugar they're after. Ray