They’re back !!!!! And as you can see by these pictures, we’ve got them and we’ve got them bad – bald face hornets, yellow jackets, and wasps !! And now the question is, how to get rid of them?
Just remember, these guys are not ones that you want to mess around with. Which ever spraying method you choose to use, you’ve got to move in fast and then get the hell out of dodge. Trust me – they are smart, they are stealth, and they will come after you. You know that saying “mad as a hornet?” Well I’m sure it came from the guy that was trying to remove a hornets nest. But check it – before you decide to spray them, or smoke them out, or set their abodes on fire, first try snaring them in traps. Its safer for you and just might do the trick.
So this year we bought the two basic Rescue brand traps – the one with the plastic, yellow cylinder and the one with the hanging bag, and let me tell you, what a big disappointment. Both were unsuccessful in trapping any significant amount of hornets or wasps, which I believe was due to the lame attractant that comes with the traps.
The bag trap hung for 3 weeks, only attracting a few unsuspecting culprits, and then began to smell something awful. Of course they’re disposable (Rescue definitely has this market figured out, because you can’t dump and refill), so this one I just tossed. The cylinder trap only had a handful of yellow jackets in it, so I removed the goofy cotton ball with the attractant on it and replaced it with some bait that my friend recommended. MEAT! Laugh as you may, but my friend swears by it – she uses meatloaf, and I used some raw chicken. So there’s some good news and some bad news here. The good news – the yellow cylinder was packed within 2 days. The bad news – all the stores in my little town were sold out of these traps. It appears we are not the only ones having problems with hornets and bees this year. Needless to say, this ONE yellow cylinder trap is hanging by my shed, doing its job over there, away from my house. But as for the rest of our property, it was time to get creative.
Now of course we have a yellow jacket nest sitting right at the base of our in-ground sprinkler head. It must be packed with hornets because it’s not only preventing our sprinkler from oscillating, it’s also preventing us from cutting the grass around that area. It was suggested that I do the following late at night: put a clear bowl over the main exit to the hive and leave it on throughout the next day; this way the sun would bake the hive and trap the worker bees. I’ve just started experimenting with this method as of last night. I’m only guessing there’s another entrance to this nest, because as you can see by the picture there are some pretty angry yellow jackets on the outside trying to get in. So I’ll again keep this on overnight, and will check it tomorrow.
And because all our stores are out of stock with the hornet traps, it was time to build my own. I found this idea online at Wikihow. Its basically a plastic water bottle cut in half; one half filled with water along with a piece of meat (this time I used sandwich meat). I rubbed some sweet jam on the neck of the bottle lid, and then placed the top half of the water bottle upside and inside the plastic bottle. I sealed it with some yellow duct tape (I read the yellow color attracts hornets), then hung it with an old shoelace. And as you can see by the picture, within minutes there was a bald faced hornet inside along with others trying to get in. If this little homemade trap is filled by morning, I will then make more but with a larger pop bottle. Here’s the original homemade trap that I found at Wikihow.
Now for the big question – WILL THESE TRAPS ALSO SNARE HONEYBEES? This all depends on your choice of bait. If you use a protein based bait such as meat or tuna, your trap should only attract hornets and wasps – honeybees don’t seem to like the protein. However if your using sugar water, then you run the risk of attracting honeybees. So don’t do it – WE LIKE HONEYBEES !!
And this take me to the bald face hornet nest that’s sitting in my lean-to, and thank goodness its located about 800 feet from my house. This one here I’m leaving for my husband to tackle. He’s planning on covering it with a plastic bag and then doing what with the bag, Lord only knows. But what I do know … ITS NOT GOING TO INVOLVE ANY HELP FROM ME !!
So as you can see, the safest way (for all human parties involved) with hornet and wasp removal, is to first try trapping them. Give it a few days for your traps to work. If at that time, you’re still seeing these unwanted guests hanging around, then its time to move on to Plan B, which is SPRAY SPRAY SPRAY !!
Mama Bears Garden 