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! I have a huge nest of them in my Welcome sign.
Gratefully no stings but you can bet they won’t be welcome next year! To handle a potential stinging situation, make a Yellow Jacket trap.
Although these guys are beneficial insects they’re certainly not welcome at your barbecue! You want them outta there. Toxic chemicals are hardly an appealing solution around your picnic or your pollinator plants.
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, 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. Take it out near the nest or at least away from your eating area and lay it down on it’s side with the opening facing up.
If you’re around yellow jackets, try not to make sudden movements, that’s an aggressive move and they will attack. Unlike bees, yellow jackets can sting repeatedly.
Don’t hang out the Welcome sign!