Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Yellow jacket trap
That little flyer you have hovering over your hot dog is most likely the Yellow Jacket wasp.
In late August yellow jackets are at peak numbers and they want a sip of your drink or a bite of your food just as much as you do!
My husband was just stung last week when he stuck his hand into a lockbox that happened to house a wasp nest. Thankfully he’s not allergic but it certainly wasn’t fun!
To handle a potential stinging situation, make a Yellow Jacket trap. Three easy steps from Good Housekeeping magazine.
Using one of those flat 2 liter bottles, you know the ones that fit in your refrigerator door, you can make your own trap. Pour a half cup of water into the bottle, add a quarter cup of sugar and shake till the sugar’s dissolved. Add a cup of apple-cider vinegar, shake again and then add a decaying banana peel. The combination of sweet decay is nearly irresistible to the yellow jacket. Add enough water to make the bottle half full. Cut a three quarter inch hole in the top half of the bottle for the wasps to go in and have a sip. Most will not find their way back out.
Although these guys are beneficial insects they’re certainly not welcome at your barbecue or in your lockbox! You want them outta there. Toxic chemicals are hardly an appealing solution around your picnic or your pollinator plants.