Uh oh, looks like a small nest of wasps have taken roost near our place. The warmer weather and reappearance of sweet snacks attract wasps and we've been the victim of their painful harassment before. So we decided today to make a simple DIY wasp trap out of an empty 2 liter bottle...
Here's all you'll need: 2 liter soda plastic soda bottle, an X-acto or utility blade, stapler and a cutting board. Additionally, you'll need a little honey or sugar water bait.
Carefully cut the bottle near the top where the curvature of the bottle just starts straightening out to the top center as shown above. Funny enough, cutting the bottle was a breeze, but cleaning off the label adhesive was the longest task of this project (place bottle under warm water while peeling if you prefer a clear view like we do).
Invert and insert this top part inside as shown above. We recommend stapling the two pieces to secure.
Wasps go in, attracted by the scent of honey or sugar water, but have a hard time getting out. Some people like to create a pool of water for the wasps to drown in, but we don't necessarily like promoting killing anything, so we plan just to carefully empty daily.
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rubbing alcohol on cotton wool can help get sticky residue of bottles once you remove labels, price tags etc
view Clairepetrol's profile
great close-up photos! you didn't get stung, did you?
view loislane's profile
So... if you are not killing the wasps, then why do you trap them? For sport? Aren't they just going to go back to pestering you once they are released?
view hejiranyc's profile
Poor wasps. They're just trying to do their thing. :(
view Michael W.'s profile
If you do get stung, cut an onion in half and press it to the sting. I know it sounds weird, but I lived on a farm where wasps regularly stung us, and it really helps.
view CaseyB's profile
hejiranyc: Once you trap them, it's easier/safer to remove their nest. And this sure beats the old stick swinging method that once resulted in a neighbor being stung on the face.
Michael W.: I agree, thus the desire to find a safer, more humane way to remove them without resorting to chemicals or smacking them down. Wasps are pretty aggressive compared to bees, so you don't want one near your door/windows if possible.
view gregory's profile
Ok, country gal here... we used to occasionally relocate a pesty animal but a hornet?? never!! The relocations always involve driving to a distant local for release because we didn't want them finding their way home like Lassie. If you wait until after sunset you would be able to remove the nest and occupants in one fell swoop. These pesty sting-y creatures tend to return home to rebuild in the event of an eviction. Good luck
view Alice's profile
Thanks for the info! As I am wholeheartedly against unnecessary killing, I think this idea is great!
While I don't think the hornet/wasp/etc will be discouraged enough to move away, I think it would be good for when they get in the house. Usually I'd have to use a glass and paper to capture and remove a hornet. This is a lot easier and there's not as great a chance of accidentally injuring or killing them.
view uisceros's profile