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How to Make a Yellow Jacket Wasp Trap

Charlotte Anderson @ Carolina Honeybees, LLC
Step by step instructions to make a yellow jacket wasp trap using a plastic soda bottle and homemade bait recipe. This will help reduce the number of wasps in your backyard.
4.20 from 20 votes
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Tools

  • scissors

Supplies
 

  • 1 2 litre plastic soda bottle (any tall bottle)
  • 1 banana peel
  • 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water

Instructions
 

  • You need a plastic bottle.
    An empty 2 liter soda bottle is ideal. If that is not available, any plastic bottle of the correct shape will do. (I like a clear bottle so I can see the little suckers in there.)
    Clear plastic soda bottle image.
  • Carefully cut the top 1/3 of the bottle off.
    You now have 2 parts. If you had the small plastic lid, you can throw that away – you don’t need it.
    Plastic bottle cut into 2 parts to construct a yellow jacket wasp trap image.
  • Recipe for wasp bait: Gather your ingredients: 1 cup of vinegar, ½ cup of sugar, 1 cup of water and 1 banana peel.
    Now let me say that you may experiment with other combinations to see which one works better in your area.
    Some folks add a few drop of dish soap to break up the surface tension of the water and help drown the wasps.
    Do not use just sugar water (or honey!) – that will result in dead honey bees instead of wasps.
    Vinegar, banana and sugar ingredients to make a wasp trap bait image.
  • Mix the liquid ingredients of your wasp trap bait in the bottom half of the bottle.
    Stir well to dissolve the sugar as best you can. Then add the banana peel.
    Mixing sugar and vinegar in plastic bottle half image.
  • Invert the top cut part of the bottle and place it upside down into the larger section.
    This forms a funnel with the hole near the middle of the larger bottom piece. The shape of the neck of the bottle (now upside down) confuses the wasps and helps prevent escape.
    Using top half of bottle to create a funnel image.
  • Set trap outside in a location that is protected from rain.
    You can use string, cord or part of a wire clothes hanger to create a handle if you wish. Attach it to a fence post or hang it from a tree limb.
    In a few days, the scent of the bait should attract hungry wasps and they will drown in the soapy solution.
    Sometimes the trap will catch Yellow Jackets or hornets in a short period of time. And, sometimes it may not seem to work at all.
    Success catching yellow jacket wasps and hornet with trap image.
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