Bait for Trapping Yellow Jackets

RE: Bait for Trapping Yellow Jackets Post By teamleader (Guest Post) (09/12/2004) If you have one of those traps where they fly in and can't get out,fill it about half full with orange pop and you'll be amazed at how many go in there. Trapping Yellow Jackets Post by ThriftyFun (4042) | (09/01/2004) Profile | Blog! | Contact There are several inexpensive non-toxic bait traps available for yellow jacket control, including the Wasp Trap, the Oak Stump Farm "Yellow Jacket" Wasp Trap and the Yellow Jacket Inn. Visit your nearby garden center or check out a gardening mail order catalog to investigate the availability of these traps. Traps should be placed around the perimeter of human recreational areas well in advance of outdoor activities. Traps may be placed along side dumpsters or restaurant loading docks. Most trap directions call for a reservoir to be filled with an attractant such as sugar water. Exhausted yellow jackets fall into the liquid and drown. Traps should be serviced daily to remove dead insects because the odor can become very offensive. Wash the trap with soap and water after several days use. Monitor the traps, attractiveness to beneficial insects such as honey bees and alter the bait if necessary. Raw bologna has proven to be a very successful yellow jacket bait and it does not attract beneficial insects. Homemade Traps: A crude yellow jacket trap is made by hanging a raw fish or piece of liver (slightly diced on the exterior) by string about 1 to 2 inches above a container of detergent and water. The detergent will act as a wetting agent and eliminate surface tension which will improve trap efficiency. Foraging yellow jackets are attracted to the raw meat and will often become overloaded with food and fall into the water and drown. This method of yellow jacket control is not as efficient as nest elimination but it may help reduce the population to acceptable levels. "Bee Lining" for Fish Bait: Bee lining is a method by which a person may locate a yellow jacket nest by observing foragers as they return to their colony with food. A freshly caught small fish should be diced slightly on the exterior with a knife and hung in a tree about 5 to 6 feet off the ground. Foraging yellow jackets will be attracted to the raw fish and will chew off a tiny particle of the meat. By close observation, a person can follow the flight line of the yellow jacket back to her nest. The foraging yellow jacket will normally make a "bee line" straight to the nest which is often no more than 1,000 yards from the food source. Fishermen have been known to use this procedure to discover yellow jacket nests and use the grub as excellent fish bait. http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC2510.htm They also have information about nests in the link above.