Homemade bee traps - foofna

penny1947

21 years ago

Foofna,

You asked how I made my bee traps so here goes.....

I use pop bottles but any plastic bottle would probably work just fine.

THese are very primitive and not necessarily attractive but they do work and they are free if you use old recyclable bottles.

Method #1

Take a pop bottle standing upright and make several small crossed slits around the side of the bottle about midway in the form of an X. My slits were only about a half inch long. Then push those triangular cuts inward just enough to create a small opening where the bees, yellowjackets can enter the bottle but the part you have pushed inward will make it difficult for them to be able to exit. Unscrew the cap and add sugar water keeping it below the holes that you made. i use the nectar from my feederz when I am changing it out. Put the cap back on and Then just use a piece of wire or string around the neck of the bottle to hang it or set it on a fence post etc.

Method #2

Using a pop bottle cut it in two about 1/3 of the way down from the neck. Remove the cap and Put the top part down into the bottom like a funnel. Pour sugar water down into the bottle through the funnel. I put 2 holes along the cut edges at the top where the two sections fit together to put a piece of wire through to hang it up but you could just set it on a post or out of the way place as well. The yellowjackets will go down into the funnel opening to reach the nectar.

I hope that I have explained these methods well ehough.

I did use both methods when we were camping to keep the yellow jackets away from our tcampsite and both methods worked like a charm. In 5 days I caught well over 50 yellow jackets....over a dozen the first afternoon after I hung the first one.

They will fly around in there for a day or two but they will eventually drown in the nectar. If you need to add more nectar, the funnel method is easier. with method #1 you will have to wait for the ones in there to die before taking the cap off to pour more sugar water in as they tend to fly to the top of the bottle.

Penny

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Comments (8)

minnie_tx
20 years ago
Sounds good Back in August I posted how to make a homemade wasp trap. Here is a photo of one.

Here is a link that might be useful:
penny1947
Original Author
20 years ago
Minnie thanks for posting your picture. Your trap is basically the way I made my number 2 trap and it worked like a charm. In fact while we were camping, I put the kids left over drinks from their juice boxes that they didn't always finish in the trap instead of sugar water

Penny
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Linda313
20 years ago
Thanks for the info Penny and Minnie. Yellow jackets haven't been a problem here but wasps sure are. I may place several traps around my entire yard. I'll bet the traps would work for ants, too. I don't mind the bees...even the bumble bees, I actually kind of like them. Do you get many bees in the traps? Linda
spocklady
20 years ago
Hello!

I have recently read that yellow jackets and wasps are attracted to the color yellow.

I am wondering if I add some yellow around the wasp traps, maybe I'll catch more wasps? They seem more interested in the hummer feeders...
penny1947
Original Author
20 years ago
Linda,
I have never caught a bee in any trap either commercial or homemade. Mostly they seem to attract the yellowjackets and an occasional fly.

SpockLady
Yes yellow jackets and bees seem to be attracted to the color yelow but to be honest the yellow jackets took to the traps like a duck takes to water. In one trap I used a 20 pepsi bottle with the lable removed and in the other I used a flavored water bottle with the label left on. If you are concerned about the color get cheap can of spray paint or a small bottle of craft paint and put a light coat of paint on the bottle. I really have never had a problem with wasps...only yellow jackets and this solved my problem perfectly.

Penny
mizmom
20 years ago
One of my Hbird feeders hangs near the rail on my deck. For several years I have had great luck drowning yellowjackets in a yellow butter tub with some orange juice and a squirt of dish soap mixed in. I just sit the butter tub on the rail near the feeder. The wasps seem to love it but the bumbles and honey bees on the flowers nearby ignore it completely. The only other insect that I have found in the mixture is an occasional fly. The only time I need to resort to this is in the late summer and fall when the yellow jackets are numerous.
flowerpowereverett
20 years ago
Thanks for these clever ideas! Yellow Jackets are really becoming a problem. Ruth
minnie_tx
20 years ago
I have a sudden absence of the wasps and bees.
I really don't want to hurt the bees just have them go someplace else!!