Fight against the wasp

Specialized products to control Asian hornets (Vespa velutina) and effectively protect your hives, especially during critical seasons.

Protect Your Bees from Wasps with Effective Solutions

Sort by:
Sales, highest to lowest Relevance Name, A to Z Name, Z to A Price, low to high Price, high to low Reference, A to Z Reference, Z to A

Insect/Wasp trap

starstarstarstarstar_half
20 reviews

Wasp trap Vetopharma®

starstarstarstar_halfstar_border
6 reviews

Avispaclac Spray 600ml

starstarstarstarstar_border
1 reviews

Plastic tray for harp

starstarstarstarstar_half
7 reviews
Back to top
Trustpilot
Joshua Ivars
Joshua Ivars
With over 15 years of experience in beekeeping, Joshua collaborates with the national beekeeping congress as part of the scientific committee in the area of innovation and sustainability.

How to trap wasps sensibly

Traps for wasps and hornets make sense when we use them as one more tool for surveillance and reducing pressure on the apiary, not as a miracle solution. With species like Vespa velutina or, in some areas, Vespa orientalis, the problem isn't just that they catch bees: they can also block the hive's normal activity, make the bees stop foraging and weaken it just when it needs to go into autumn strong. That's why a well-placed trap can help a lot; but a badly chosen, badly baited or abandoned trap can catch too many non-target insects and give a false sense of control.

My advice is to always prioritize selective traps, easy to check, sturdy, ventilated and convenient to clean. I wouldn't place traps at random nor leave them all year “just in case”. You have to adapt them to the season, the real wasp pressure and the area. In spring, if you trap, I'd do it with great judgement and according to the local situation; in late summer and autumn, when the pressure on the hives increases, it makes more sense to reinforce trapping around the apiary. Before buying, I'd look at the type of entrance, the escape possibility for small insects, rain protection, the hanging system, a compatible attractant and how easy it is to empty it safely. And here I'll take a clear stand: I prefer a few good, selective traps checked every few days over many homemade bottles forgotten in the field. If you spot a nest, don't handle it: locate it and notify the competent authorities.

Fight against the wasp and Asian hornets

Fight against the wasp

The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) poses a significant threat to honeybee colonies, especially during late summer and autumn, due to intense predation pressure. Choosing the right methods and tools is essential to effectively manage this invasive species and protect your apiary.

In this category, you’ll find various control methods with practical guidance:

Entrance reducers and excluders: A reducer narrows the entrance and stops the larger hornets, but not the small ones — and there are small ones early in the cycle and again in late autumn. A queen excluder fitted at the entrance goes further: it keeps hornets out and, above all, stops the colony balling up in defence. That matters more than it sounds, because a colony balled up does not move, and a contact varroa treatment never reaches it. Mind the flip side: a heavily closed entrance combined with an evaporation treatment has caused documented cases of suffocation. Either way, check often — swarms cannot leave, and drones and dead bees pile up.

Protective Screens ("Bozales"): Should be placed well ahead of peak hornet activity, at least 25 cm from hive entrances to reduce bee stress. These screens allow proper airflow and facilitate removal of dead bees and drones.

Electric Harps: Highly effective at reducing immediate hornet pressure around hives during peak seasons (summer and autumn). Though not eliminating the hornet entirely, harps significantly decrease bee stress and enable safer foraging. Bear in mind that it is not a harmless device: about 68% of its catch is Vespa velutina, so roughly one in three is not the target. Check its placement every two or three weeks and count what ends up in the tray.

Selective Traps with Specific Attractants: Crucial for capturing founding queens in spring, workers throughout the summer, and future queens in autumn. To minimize impact on beneficial insects, traps should be frequently monitored, used only in confirmed hornet-infested areas, and promptly removed once the trapping period ends.

By strategically combining these methods and following our practical recommendations, you can effectively manage Asian hornet populations, significantly reducing their impact and ensuring the survival and productivity of your bee colonies.

¿Tienes alguna duda sobre Fight against the wasp?

Can the same trap be used to detect Vespa velutina and to reduce pressure on an apiary?
Not necessarily. A detection trap helps confirm the presence of wasps or hornets and indicates when other measures may be needed. Reducing pressure can require higher-capacity selective devices and complementary measures, depending on the season and the apiary’s situation. Trapping alone does not guarantee control, so follow the product instructions and the recommendations of the relevant authority.

When should traps for Vespa velutina be set?
Trapping should be selective, planned and adapted to the actual presence of Vespa velutina in the area. In invaded areas it can be used in spring to monitor founding queens, and in summer or autumn when worker pressure on apiaries increases. Check catches frequently, avoid leaving unattended traps in place all year, and always follow local guidance and the manufacturer’s instructions.

When should traps go out, and when should they come down?

They are two different campaigns with different lures. February to June targets founding queens; June to October, workers, to relieve pressure. And the common mistake is not starting late: it is not taking them down in time. Outside the queens' flight period the bait trap comes in — removing it is one of the three layers that make trapping selective, alongside the type of trap and where it is placed. In cold springs queens are still caught past mid-June, so your area sets the calendar, not the almanac.

Do bait traps go near the hives or well away from them?

Well away, and this is one of the most repeated mistakes. A lure in front of the entrances steers the hornets exactly where you do not want them. Bait traps belong some 500 m from the apiary and in spring, for queens; what goes in front of the entrance is physical protection — a harp, an entrance barrier or an excluder. A density benchmark: in Asturias, trapping at about eight traps per square kilometre in areas with nest-producing queens cut the following year's nests almost by half, against a 13% drop across the region as a whole.

How do I know there is hornet pressure in my area before spending anything?

There is a free indicator: flowering ivy, whose bloom coincides with the hornet's population peak. If the ivy is working with bees, hoverflies and butterflies, pressure in that valley is low; if all you see on it is hornets, it is high. And a warning about visiting the apiary, because it produces false negatives: in hot areas the hornet eases off at midday and presses hardest morning and evening. Going only at midday and seeing none does not mean there are none — on the coast the peak runs the other way, from noon to six.

Which bait should I use, sweet or fermented?

It depends who you are after, and they are not the same. For queens, fermented or vinegary: wine, vinegar, old fermented honey. The alcohol and the vinegar are what draw them in, and they are also what makes the trap selective. For workers in summer, sweet — and the more concentrated the sugar, the more attractive. Pair the bait with 8 to 8.5 mm openings and practically only hornets get in. And if the hornet is still scarce where you are, a commercial selective trap with its own lure beats a bottle of sugar water, which there really does take out what it should not.