Asian hornet trap Vetopharma®

01 · AGAINST THE HOME-MADE ONE

What changes is the geometry, not the bait

A cut-down bottle does catch, but it catches whatever comes: bees, butterflies, hoverflies and every insect drawn to a sugary liquid. This trap works differently: the hood with two holes and the tunnel concentrate the smell, darken the inside and make it hard for the hornet to find its way out. The yellow bowl adds to it, being a colour they come to. That difference in design is what ITSAP measured in the field.

02 · WHEN AND WHERE

Above 15 degrees and at the height of the harassment

Hang it when the daily maximum passes 15 °C and place it 1.5 to 3 metres off the ground, or right by the hive entrances. Heavy pressure on the apiary runs from June to September: that is when a trap beside the hives makes sense, rather than leaving it up all year. The density follows what you see: at two hornets per hive, one trap per two hives; at three to five, one per hive; above five, three traps per two hives.

03 · THE MAINTENANCE

Counter-intuitive: do not scrub it

When you renew the solution, do not clean the container and leave one dead hornet inside. It sounds odd and it is the maker's instruction: the smell of a used trap works in your favour, and a freshly scrubbed one starts from zero. Topping up the attractant without wiping out the bowl's scent memory is what keeps the catch rate going.

04 · WHAT IT DOES NOT DO

It contains the pressure; it does not deal with the nest

Worth saying plainly, because it is the expectation that disappoints most: a trap reduces the harassment on the hives, but it does not remove the nest, nor does it replace locating and destroying it, which falls to the competent services in each area. As an apiary tool it is defensive: it lowers the pressure at the moment the colony is most punished.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The attractant goes separately: it takes the brand's own, in 10 ml or one litre, and also your own preparations.