Mountain Landcare is concerned about the growing population of European Wasps – otherwise known as German Wasps or Yellowjackets – in and around Tumbarumba and Tumut and they are calling for residents to trap and kill the pesky wasps.
“Apart from the fact they kill many bees, paper wasps and other beneficial pollinators,” says a Mountain Landcare spokesperson, “they make eating outside difficult because they home in on food and drink and can easily get aggressive.”
During late spring and early summer the queen wasps are busy establishing a nest and foraging. This is the time to trap them using a trap containing sugar, water and yeast.
In March and April the larvae in the nests are then fed by the workers who forage for protein, especially in the form of meat, which they then take back to the larvae in the nest. Baits can be laid containing the chemical Fipronil, which is the chemical used for flea control on pets.
Here’s Mountain Landcare’s do-it-at-home European Wasp trap and how to make it.
Queen wasp traps
The spring wasp trap recipe is for springtime and early summer only and dedicated to catching queen European wasps only. Catching queens is the best and most environmentally sound method of reducing European wasps.
The trap is made using a clear 1.25L PET bottle (soft drink bottle, milk bottle, or any similar container) with three holes of 13 -20mm diameter about 15cm (150mm) from the base of the bottle. The hole diameter is not mm critical but does need to be large enough for the queen wasp to enter and small enough so she cannot easily find her way out.
It is easiest to make holes using a carpentry drill bit in an electric drill but you can cut an X and push it in with your finger. Screw-cap lids remain on.
BAIT:
(1kg sugar makes enough for four traps)
Mix at a ratio of one part sugar four parts hot water. For example, 250g sugar dissolved in one litre of water, which will make 1.3 litres of mixture.
Dissolve 250g sugar in 500ml of hot water. Stir until dissolved. Add 500 ml of cold water and two teaspoons of yeast.
You can also add a tablespoon or two of honey per trap.
This recipe makes enough for four traps. If fermenting seems slow add another teaspoon of yeast.
Allow 1-2 days for the mix to ferment. Time to ferment depends on ambient air temperature.
How can I tell if the mix is fermenting?
When the mix is fermenting it will bubble and foam slightly and have a yeasty smell.
Place the bait mixture in a warm place for one to two days for the solution to ferment (fermenting will stop bees being attracted). The CO2 released by fermentation may have a role to play in attracting wasps.
Replace screwcaps.
Positioning the Trap
Hang in a sunny spot in the garden. Near a peach or nectarine trees with curly leaf is a good place, or near a wood heap or pile of sticks because queens hibernate under bark.
Height is not critical but one to two metres in the air seems good.
While there is nothing to harm people, pets or the environment in the bait, traps should be hung out of the reach of children and pets simply to avoid interference.
Shake every few days to let bait dribble out. Strain out when full, reuse and top up bait with water if necessary.
Replace the bait every four to five weeks.
