The BEST Yellow Jacket Wasp Trap and Best Bait to Use in Fall Trap Wasps or Hornets, NOT BEES 

I think it's probably a good bait and switch if you have bee hives, but I read that traps don't reduce the wasp population, as the queen can birth an almost inexhaustible supply. If you really want to reduce wasp population, you need to kill the queens.

I love yellow jackets👍 they stopped an agonizing back ache i had for weeks in under a minute 👍

You have such a calming voice, i feel as if anyone with a phobia of wasps will always feel calm watching your videos.

Somebody laid an egg while watching your video! 😉 Absolutely amazing footage. So crystal clear. You could teach entire biology classes with just your skilled videos. 👍

Remember to add just a drop or two of dish soap into the liquid so that it breaks the surface tension! I saw a wasp fall into the liquid at one point and still fly out of it unscathed. Wouldn't happen with some soap in there!

Mr. Dunn, why are your videography skills so advanced that you can even make yellow jackets look adorable? haha

Thanks so much. I bought a pair of these right after watching your video. Used pineapple juice and turkey bacon, and immediately saw results.

You're like a one man National Geographic.

I LOVE how you keep saying "design"

With the number of times I've been stung by wasps over the years, I must admit...I love watching wasps die! Thanks for the video!!!

I love these videos for the close up shots of these wasps

They love canned salmon, sardines, or a small fish. Also, vinegar, or stale beer. A little vinegar in any juice, they love.

Good thinking about feeding some hornets so they go back to the nest and provide location of trap.

As always. A pleasure watching your videos.

deviously smart way to let some wasps go back to their nest to bring others ;) lose-to-win principle made practical

Soothing and fascinating explanation

This was so educational, thank you. I think I got how you placed the bacon inside ☺️☺️

I enjoyed that you used a trap you bought... I’m tired of making homemade ones g

I learn something Every time I watch your videos. The drops of sugar water is genius. Thanks again for an excellent video.

Around here (I'm in Alberta) we try to keep traps ready and baited all summer but especially in spring and fall. Spring to catch overwintering queens as they emerge from hibernation and start to forage to build their new nests. Fall to catch the multiple new queens which emerge from each nest to mate and then overwinter in the leaf litter, etc.

2 minutes in and I was thinking "Yeah wouldn't it be better if a few wasps are able to report back and bring the whole colony?" And obviously the trap can't do that or it wouldn't be very good but the few drops of sugar water on the outside is really smart

Those water droplets were so satisfying to look at in slow motion

your one smart guy

I'm always amazed in your videos how you do what you can to protect your honeybees, but also marvels at their natural predators - wasps and the mice videos are incredible. Also, these yellow jackets sure can suck some sugar water pretty fast!

fun watching the wasp 'wagging' her tail :-)

Fred, I have used these Rescue brand traps for years and they work well till the bait packets wear out after two weeks or so. I've put chunks of bacon or hamberger in the cup and they collect almost all the hornets in the neighborhood. I like the big one shown here, but as with all things that seem to work well, they probably are expensive to purchase. Yeah, Amazon probably has them at a reasonable price. I'd prefer to make my own for free out of 2 liter soda bottles, some glue and pop rivets. I have a plan, but don't have the bottles as we don't drink large amount of pop. I can pick up several at the recycle station in my area. I would use apple juice with a bit of dish soap and hang a chunk of bacon down in the center from the cap. My gig is to make stuff useful out of junk people typically throw away. The thing to remember, in this day and age, with landfills bulging full, is there is no such thing as "AWAY" any longer. My time is free as is my efforts at making stuff. Here's one for you: I made an oxalic acid vaporizer out of cast iron pipe fittings and a length of brass tubing I had in my junk drawer in my shop. A pipe cap filled with OA powder is heated with a propane torch for about 2 or 3 minutes till the powder is sublimated inside the hive. No way do I need to expend hundreds of bucks on a battery powered unit when my cheap torch fired job does the same thing and for around 8 or 10 dollars at a hardware store. Of course, I've had these parts for several years, before I decided to get back into messing with bees and Varroa mites. I took the apparatus to a bee club meeting recently. The guy that was the experienced beekeeper was a bit doubtful as to whether it would work as well his several hundred dollar contraption. I told him I already tried it to see how long it would take it vaporize a dose of OA. He said he'd like me to show him a video. Man, some people!! Why can't they just trust a person who has entered geezerhood like myself. And knows a thing or two. Cheers, Fred. Bob

You are a sinister genius

Thank you for making this video! As far as attracting yellow jackets, I have found that apple cider and apple juice work most effectively (with local, homemade apple cider being most effective due to the high concentration of organic sugars). But, I also insert chopped red apples and smoked turkey lunch meat with the apple cider or apple juice, allowing the meat to remain above the liquid as the apples float on the surface of the liquid. I also use the Rescue Why Trap. The trap you use works well for what you are doing. But, the Rescue Why trap does not swing as often in the wind when hanging due to its slimmer and taller stature. This taller stature allows a greater volume of liquid inside the trap, increasing both the weight of the trap (making it more difficult for the trap to swing) and the amount of time it takes for the greater volume of liquid to evaporate. And also . . . larger, European hornets can enter the trap. With the Rescue Why Trap, there are two segments divided into top and bottom-(1) [the top] for liquid bait, solid bait, or both and (2) [the bottom] for solid bait (i.e. apples, bacon, lunch meat, etc.) exclusively. I love this video. Your idea of leaving a portion of liquid outside of the trap to attract more wasps is brilliant. I will be applying this to my hornet and wasp trapping.

Wow, they are ornery little farts. I had a yellow jacket zero in on me when I was about 30 feet away from her. She made a bee line (lol) for my forehead. Hurt for 2 days. ...loved the chickens!

I'm viewing nature differently now, thanks for educating me.... Cathy wv

Love it, the Bob Ross of bad bee control!

I'm thinking of buying a few traps of that design.

Listen to this through AirPods 😂

great info for fall an queen hornet not layin,,baldface hornets arent as bad as y-jackets,,THANX

This Summer, I'm going to load my traps with this combination. Fanta Orange, strawberry or grape jam, bananas, and fish flavored cat food.

Brilliant. Thank you very much for the video.

Evil little buggers!!

Thanks for the link, should arrive by Saturday.

Got it, thx!! You're a smart fella 👏

I've started using a trap I saw from the barnyard bees channel. Just took a cheap tote from the store, cut a hole big enough to fit a 2L bottle top into it but kept it small enough so that it was a tight fit, and then duct taped around the seal just to ensure it remains tight and no wasp can get back out once they've fallen in. The bottom of the tote is filled with sugar water about 2-3 inches high, and I'll put a couple pieces of chicken breast or bacon inside of it and then place these totes at key areas around the house in direct sun-light to really get that fermenting process going, and get them smelling ripe. Within a few days, the entire bottom of the tote is jam packed with dead wasps and it's just a matter of dumping it, and replacing the contents to put it back out for round 2. I usually only do this starting at the beginning of august, when the yellow jackets really start to become a nuisance around my house. Usually by mid October, the temps have come down to the point where wasp activity starts slowing down to an acceptable level again. I live in upstate New York so it gets cold relatively quick up here.

Very very interesting great post

Science!!!

I have 2 liters and 20oz bottles with the top 1/4 cut off and turned upside down hung around my house, filled with koolade and balogna. I catch a few.

Another bait idea I tried, is find the crappiest, highest in sugar, HFCS syrup for pancakes. This stuff added in with juice and sugar has been attracting them far greater than anything else so far.

very interesting..because there were so much food available, natural enemies did not fight. we as humans could learn alot from this LOL...abundance of resources for everyone will bring peace to the world!

you need to put a drop of dish soap in the sugar water so that the surface tension of the water is broken so that the wasps drop below the surface of the water and drown thereby not escape back out of the holes.

Thank you ))) Nice video

I many buy a few of these traps. If I do I will use a clear two part epoxy to seal the seal before I ever use it. Maybe I will also use a one inch wide fiber cloth to make the joint stronger? Thank you for this! I am having a lot of Yellowjackets around my home this year. Last year we has two nests right near the front door. Now it seems I have a copperhead problem as well!

thanks great video

Update: apple juice is already working on gnats in the house. Straight apple juice with about 3 drops of Dawn dish liquid mixed in. Cat food in the paste form is already calling in the wasps as of April 4th 2023.

hope this can be used on Asian Giant Hornets, aka "Murder Hornets."

Hello Mr Dunn, first of all we LOVE your videos!!! We are new bee keepers and relish all of the wisdom you have to share. Our hive has been a delight to have and we love our little bee's.... and then, terror struck. Wasps attacked out hive and decimated the population while we were away. Now, We have been battling wasps and our hive is now down to a few hundred bee's. :'( I literally checked the hive minutes ago..We have narrowed down the entry to ONE little hole. For a while we thought the queen was dead, but today I found her. (maybe still hope?). But...The wasps are occasionally entering or attacking the honey bees on the landing board.. We are going to try your apple-juice/bacon medley, with the sprinkled sugar water... but in proximity to the hive, where do you place the trap?

Don't use the white string that comes with it very fragile and breaks the trap falls and breaks.

Hello, I realize that this video is not recent, I am wondering where these traps should be placed in proximity to my hives. I am dealing with hornets. I don't want them being lured near the hive. Thanks in advance, I have found your videos very helpful

Sunkist Orange mixed with water and raw bacon strips on the outside of my trap are drawing in the red wasps, August 24 2023.

Bummed we didn’t get to hear the screech of the Pterodactyl in the background.....

Your voice is very soothing to listen to- you should be an audio book reader. I would love to hear you read the Bible.

Do you know if you use fish/kelp fertilizer if it will attract yellow jackets or not? Thank you.

Good info

Very enjoyable video... what was that tussle at 5:04?

Should any homeowner use a trap like this? I don't currently see a nest in my backyard but am wondering if I should put a trap up for prevention purposes? Would that attract more wasps to my yard and cause them to build a nest there?

Do these traps have a wide enough opening for european hornets?

have you tried Pepsi, you don't need the meat factor which reduces any bad odour and the bees don't care for it. It also is loved by those bald faced hornets. That is what I use in my apiary and I am quite impressed with the results. It is also less expensive and does not need to be changed unless you caught so many the bottle is full. Tried coke but not as effective , in this challenge Pepsi wins. (never drink the stuff myself though). You have great informative and well photographic vids, thanks for making them.

Can this be use without the trap to attract wasp to vegetables to get them to attack pest

can you use fully cooked bacon?

I looked at the link and it claims and trapping honey bees too. I'm not convinced they won't go in.

What to do with the trapped wasps ❓

I can only imagine your downvote was from someone whom believes wasps should not be killed.

Do you cook the bacon or use raw bacon?

What about adding a bit of soap?

Those are yellow jacket queens. Every one of them will die, along with potentially 2000 yellow jacket workers each. Tip of the hat!

When choosing a type of meat is it best to use bacon in particular or does pieces of pork or ham work as well and also does the meat have to be cooked?

Sorry for not being very smart, but why can't they escape your trap?

What bait did you use for the home made trap?

In the video there are 4 kinds of wasps. At 4.29 a wasp has an intense black striped back, at 8.48 the wasp has triangles on its back and at 9.41 the black on the back is shaped like a crown. (both visible at 8.08 together).Are these three different hives or the same hive from the same queen? Or even three different breeds of wasps. Also some are larger then others. Oh, and at 7.52 the wasp in the front has almost no black.

There are yellow jackets swarming my whole house and workshop and I am very allergic. I put out several traps, using meat, apple juice and sugar water, but they are not working. Even near the one near I've located, only the trap only attracted two victims in several days. I desperately need advice. I'm afraid even to step out onto my porch.

How often do you replace the bacon strip ?

Don't the also pollinate?

But arent wasps useful pollinators?

Any recommendations for September. I have a pool and I feel like it’s partly the wasps...

I am curious why the wasps haven't figured out that they can climb out of the trap in the same tunnel that they came in. Maybe, the smell of the food is so enticing that they are unable to go in the direction away from the smell?

You need to put dish wash liquid to the apple juice to drown them.

Did you put raw or cooked bacon in there? Thanks so much for the vid!!!

Have you ever used wet cat food? I hear this works great! Also have you every tried the tray of water with soap laying a board on it with the bait 1:51 upside down?

hello Frederick thank you so much for your advice. I made the reduced entrance and fitted it this evening as I had my suit on to inspect the 6 frames I bought Friday evening Because there seemed to be a lot of activity within two days. I saw many bees return with pollen and some not. This evenings inspection revealed the bees have only started to work on one of the new frames in this 10 frame Langstroth hive. I could see the queen which has a small white dot on it!. All the six frames feel quite heavy. Is there a particular order the 4 new waxed sheeted new frames should be placed? I was told inspect after a week but because there has been a lot of activity I though it better to carefully inspect. The 6 frames from the beekeeper have been worked on since Friday but the new frames have been hardly worked on although there were a few bees on those unworked frames. I put a 4 ltr bottle with cider sugar water and a few drops of 'fairy' and two tblspoons cider vinegar as you suggested. The only thing I've always done is to cut a oval hole in the top side of the bottle so little rain get's in.

Une guêpes en toutous pour dormir

🛫📖🛬 Thanks Mr.Dunn, As per your reply yesterday (7/17/22): This trap should catch all of the yellow jackets that trouble my apiary area. Seems logical enough and brilliant idea you had to feed them sugar syrup so they could go back and give the GPS coordinates and invite their family to their own funeral. "AWW!!! Fresh bacon fellas" (Alas,a meal to die for!) BTW: Is "Grubbly" a good brand of chicken feed and are they priced Right. ie:60lb bag/$89. GOD bless 📖🛐✈️🐆

I just bought four of these traps and put apple juice in them and I am watching them go in but they are crawling back out! Have you had this happen or possibly the trap holes were made too big? Let me know - thank you!

Neato! I'll have to get one of those contraptions. Were those wasps fighting?

Are wasps and bees attracted to the same ratios with sugar water? Or another way of saying this, is can you adjust the sugar water ratios differently to only get wasps, or only get bees but not both? Thanks. Very cool idea.

Hi, looked hard for this trap , couldn’t find one!

Are you sure that leaving sugar water outside the trap helps at all? As far as I know the only wasp that's capable of marking a food source with pheromones is the Asian giant hornet. (But I got this information from Wikipedia or a TV documentary or the internet so it may well be inaccurate.)

It’s definitely not necessary to spend money on a trap. Maybe you’re just looking out for the company making the trap but homemade traps are extremely effective and easy to make.

Nice traps, but currently unavailable at Amazon.

Thanks for this awesome video, Frederick! I went ahead and purchased the trap since it seems more appropriate and well designed than my soda bottle trick haha! I do have a question though, should we add a drop of apple cider vinegar to the apple juice so it doesn't attract bees and how far should you set the trap from the hive, and in which direction. Thank you again. Happy Fall!

Have you had any experience with the new version they replaced your link with?

Wasp MURDERER! Kidding.

Hi Fredrick, thank you for sharing your videos. I didn't see where I could purchase the traps, did I miss something? Thank you Shirley

I'm very curious, what are the purpose of wasps on earth?

I understand your reason for using sugar water outside the trap, but after the first drops I would not feed them any more encouraging more in in the trap.