How to Build Your Own Yellow Jacket Trap

Yellow jackets are important pollinators, but can be a nuisance to humans.

Yellow jackets are a group of social insects that build either paper nests that suspend from structures such as roof overhangs or subterranean nests in ditches or found in tree trunks. They are sometimes referred to as wasps or bees. Yellow jackets are beneficial in pollinating flowers, but are a nuisance around humans. They are able to sting more than once, and often build nests near human dwellings. A few household items can be used to make a yellow jacket trap.

Things You'll Need

• Two 2-liter soda bottles, empty
• Popsicle stick
• Piece of lunch meat
• String
• Water
• Vinegar
• Dish soap
• Box cutter
• Fruit jam
• Old paintbrush
• Masking tape

Instructions

Spring and Early Summer Trap

1. Fill an empty 2-liter plastic soda bottle with 2 cups of water and ¼ cup of vinegar to discourage beneficial honey bees from investigating the trap.

2. Add 2 to 3 drops of dish soap to the water.

3. Tie a 12-inch piece of string to the popsicle stick. Using the free end of the string, wrap the string around a small piece of lunch meat. Tie a knot to secure the lunch meat to the string.

4. Lower the meat-laden string into the soda bottle. Suspend the meat approximately ½ inch above the soapy water. If your string is too long, twirl the popsicle stick to wind up the string until the lunch meat can be suspended ½ inch above the soapy water.

5. Place the yellow jacket trap near a tree, garbage can, or by an area of your home where you frequently see yellow jackets. The lunch meat will attract yellow jackets in the spring and early summer when they are looking for sources of protein.

Late Summer and Fall Trap

1. Cut the top off an empty 2-liter plastic soda bottle using a sharp box cutter.

2. Fill the bottle with 2 cups of water and ¼ cup of vinegar to discourage beneficial honey bees from investigating the trap.

3. Add two to three drops of dish soap to the water.

4. Take the cut-off top and brush fruit jam on the outside of the top. Invert the top into the soda bottle, and use masking tape to secure in place.

5. Place the yellow jacket trap near a tree, garbage can, or by an area of your home where you frequently see yellow jackets. The jam coating on the inverted top will attract yellow jackets in the late summer and fall when they are looking for sweet sources.

Tips & Warnings

• Empty your traps frequently to prevent a buildup of yellow jackets and minimize the likelihood that they will survive for a long time in the trap.

• Earth Easy suggests covering open garbage containers and throwing food away promptly from your BBQ or picnic before you attract the attention of an unwanted yellow jacket.

• The University of Georgia Warnell School of Forest Resources warns people to remain cautious around wasp nests as the yellow jackets can be very aggressive protecting their nest site. (Reference 2)

• Wear protective clothing when around your traps and do not swat at wasps flying around you as this may only aggravate them.

References

• Earth Easy: Natural Wasp Control
• The University of Georgia Warnell School of Forest Resources: The Social Wasps and Bees