Stop it Wasp protection

01 · WHAT IT STOPS AND WHAT IT DOES NOT

Flying to the entrance, yes; landing, no

The Asian hornet hunts hovering, hanging in the air in front of the entrance, and that is exactly the spot the STOP IT takes away: it cannot fly in or hold station at the doorway. What it can still do is land and walk in, and that has to be said plainly — the predation does not vanish, it drops and it moves. If you expect a hive with no hornets around it, this is not the product; if what you want is your bees still foraging, it is exactly that.

02 · THE TWO DAYS OF ADAPTATION

Fit it before they arrive

The bees need about two days to learn the channels, just as with a pollen trap. Those two days mean clumsy traffic, so do not fit it in the middle of an attack: it goes on before the period of heavy pressure, with the colony calm. The better they know the barrier, the better they organise to defend it — and that is precisely the mechanism you lose by fitting it late.

03 · FIT AND METAL

Check your entrance and watch for dents

It is made for standard entrances, but not every hive measures the same: measure yours before ordering and expect that some floors or home-made entrances will want a small adjustment. And a warning from those who already use it: it is a thin part and it dents with the knocks of transport and handling; a dent can close one of the entry channels, so check it over every time you move the hive.

04 · WHERE IT FITS IN

One piece of the defence, not the whole of it

It works added to the rest: an entrance reducer to narrow the front, trapping to bring down the hornet population around you, strong colonies and, when a nest is found, its destruction. On its own, in an area under heavy pressure, it will not stop the colony suffering; fitted in time and with the rest, it is what keeps the hive working through September and October.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It needs about two days of adaptation and a check of your entrance size. The barrier is sold on its own.