Dual-Entry Bottle Trap for Wasps and Hornets ILE

01 · HOW IT GOES TOGETHER

Two windows in the side

Cut two openings in the side of the bottle and the pieces push into place, one on each side. The shape of the entry gives the wasp somewhere to land before going in — which is why it catches more than a plain hole — and makes getting back out awkward. Then hang it by the neck on a cord. When the bottle fills up or fouls, take the pieces out and put them on another one: that is the whole maintenance.

02 · THE BAIT

White wine, beer and something sweet

The old recipe is equal parts dry white wine and lager, with a dash of fruit syrup. The wine is not there by accident: it is what makes the bait selective, because honeybees avoid it and wasps do not. Renew it every fortnight — and when you do, neither wash the trap nor throw out what is inside: the built-up smell and a dead wasp or two are part of the lure.

03 · WHEN AND WHERE

Two seasons and two baits

From February to May you trap the founding queens, and sugary bait pulls. From July to November, when the nest is after protein, change the bait and experiment. Put it near the hives if the aim is to protect them, or a metre and a half to three metres up in a garden or by a pool. If nothing drops in a few days, move it: wasps follow routes, and a trap off the route does no work.

04 · WHAT TO EXPECT

It lowers the pressure, it does not erase the species

Worth being clear about what a trap does: it reduces the pressure on the apiary and takes wasps out of the surroundings, but it does not wipe out the local population. This is the cheap way to put out many traps at once — which is how it actually shows — and to replace them without thinking twice. And never, under any circumstances, put insecticide in the bait.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

What is sold are the two entries: the bottle is yours and gets replaced when it fouls. The attractant is separate.