Bugged by Yellowjackets

We’ve always had tons of yellowjackets here. They are aggressive and pesky, and often get inside the house. Last year I tried some ugly yellow plastic traps that use chemical attractant and caught, perhaps, two dozen yellowjackets. This year, I’ve purchased some vintage-style, reusable glass traps that can be baited with sweetened fruit juice. I read that springtime is the best time to set out traps, because the early season yellowjackets are often queens.

 

As you can see from the photo on the right, about an hour after I hung the traps we had a visitor. But it was a fly, not a yellowjacket, and it managed to get itself out of the trap and fly off a little while after I took the photo.

Strangely, I was happy.

Update: The glass traps may be prettier than the plastic ones, but they caught nary a single yellowjacket during the 2007 summer season. Meanwhile, the tacky yellow plastic trap with commercial attractant caught about a hundred yellowjackets in three months. We clearly need to find a better bait for the glass traps; watch for an update in spring of 2008.