Tartago® dry trap for Asian hornet, stainless steel

01 · HOW IT DIFFERS FROM A HARP

The attractant and the calendar

A harp is a passive trap: you set it between hives and it catches the wasp that was already coming to attack. It earns its keep mainly in early summer, when there is pressure on the entrances.

The trap adds an attractant reservoir, and that changes the calendar: the manufacturer provides for use with attractant during the founding-queen phase. The campaign has to be fitted to confirmed presence, to the aim and to the local protocol: catching a queen does not automatically mean preventing a nest.

02 · THE CALENDAR

And the summer mistake

Use changes with the season, and there is a moment when the attractant works against you:

For summer use as a harp, run the unit without attractant. The attractant and cappings-wax modes the manufacturer describes call for weighing up the risk of drawing in insects, robbing and non-target catches, within the local plan; they are not a compulsory calendar for every apiary.

03 · LIVE CAPTURE

What it allows and what it does not authorise

The one-way system keeps the wasp that enters from getting out again, and catches them alive. Live capture can make bycatch easier to spot, but on its own it does not show that the system is selective. Check which species end up inside and follow a safe procedure: there may be live hornets able to sting.

Some people use live catches in more advanced control techniques. What holds for any device holds here: the trap authorises no treatment. What may be applied, and under what conditions, is set by the authorised product and by your region's control plan.

04 · BAITS AND ATTRACTANT

Two different things

The baits are included: small rough black balls that clip onto the wires and mimic bees in flight. They work visually, drawing the wasp towards the trap.

The attractant is something else and goes in the lower reservoir: use only an attractant compatible with the unit and with the campaign conditions; follow its label or the applicable technical instructions and keep an eye on bycatch. Being stainless steel, it cleans thoroughly between seasons.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is the trap; the electronics go separately: