I have hung some wasp traps. So far it's yielded capturing one wasp and two flies. That's over 23 days. There have been plenty of warm days when I've seen them pealing wood from my fence and hand railing, so it's not due to a lack of activity. I've already destroyed 5 nests but have captured just the one.

First bait was maple syrup. Caught 1 wasp and 1 fly. (15 days)
Then I tried Gingerale/strawberry. Caught 1 fly (8 days)
My current bait is Dr. Pepper / Cream Soda. (comes that way) Will have to see how that fares.

So I'm wondering what beer might attract wasps the best. They love barbecues.

 

I have had good sucess with sweet yellow coloured liquid , either beer or lemonade, I cut the top off a 1 to 1.5 litre transparent plastic bottle, I invert the cut off piece so it acts a funnel into the bottle.
Just enough liquid to cover a couple cm's in the container bottom.
This results in a whole swarm drowned at the bottom.

 

Out of curiosity I did a little poking around and the barbecue attraction might have something to it. They take meat back to the nest to feed larvae. The adults however can't eat the meat so they will go for sugary stuff.

 

Devon cream teas.I wonder if Cornish Cream teas (where the cream goes on top of the jam) attract fewer wasps than Devon cream teas (where the jam goes on top of the cream)

 

Seems like an appropriate juncture for the old cake-shop joke. . .
A man goes into a cake shop and says "I'd like to buy a wasp"
"I'm sorry sir, we don't sell wasps"
"well, why do you have one in the window?"

 

On YT a guy took a board, stapled some strips of chicken to it, set it straddling a pan of water with dish soap. The water level was close to the chicken so the wasps could get to the meat. Then upon taking off they dropped from the underside and came in contact with the water. The dish soap made the surface tension such that the wasp would not float. I tried the same. All I got was rotting chicken under board over water. Guess I just don't have the luck. Just hoards of wasps.

Yesterday I cut the grass. Noticed hundreds of tiny things jumping out of the way of the mower. Grasshoppers. Last couple of years we've been plagued with the pests. They eat my wife's garden. And "Man" thinks he's the most destructive force on the earth.

 

The sugar/water in my hummingbird feeder attracts plenty of wasps, which chase away the birds. Tweaking designs in my combo feeder/trap. Late summer when the pears fall, they are covered with wasps. If you kill the first wasp that comes along, it will take the next one to stumble across the source. Letting those first few get the message back to the nest will encourage more to check it out. Our best results are to find the nest and vacuum them up.

 

So I'm wondering what beer might attract wasps the best.

This is what we use:

My wife tries to remember to bait the stations early to catch queens.

We use Terminix when we have an infestation; 3 times in 30 years.

 

Apparently, wasps are actually good for the garden.
https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/why-wasps-are-good-for-gardeners/
I was less convinced of that fact when I ran over a wasps nest with the lawnmower. . .

 

Apparently, wasps are actually good for the garden.
https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/why-wasps-are-good-for-gardeners/
I was less convinced of that fact when I ran over a wasps nest with the lawnmower. . .

That link was very informative. Thank you.

Now Grasshoppers - - - that's another story. Already have thousands of them in my grass. smaller than a pea, but that won't last long. The cats love catching them and bringing gifts in the house.

So far the traps haven't done a darn thing. But one of the pestilence's they bring is eating up the wood on the hand railing and devouring the cedar fencing. They take tiny bits to build their nests. Even if you're not getting stung - they are destructive.

 

So far the traps haven't done a darn thing. But one of the pestilence's they bring is eating up the wood on the hand railing and devouring the cedar fencing. They take tiny bits to build their nests. Even if you're not getting stung - they are destructive.

They do that to my shed. it's made of plywood, and they have almost stripped off the outer ply. I have to paint it every year, and even the paint doesn't stop them.
I think it's a different species, rather than the usual yellow and black stripy thing

 

What attracts wasps best?
A picnic.

 

What attracts wasps best?
A picnic.

Yeah, or a Mother's Day Barbecue.

 

Poking their nest with a stick.

 

Poking their nest with a stick.

We have a winner!