Yellow jackets are a ground-nesting wasp that thrive in hot and dry conditions. Modest in size, they are giants of aggression toward humans who approach their nests, and their stings hurt. Due to their ground-dwelling nature, their populations can really multiply by the end of the summer if the weather has been dry. Since they are attracted to anything sweet, they swarm around trash cans and picnics and can be a real pest from August through mid-October.
What is the solution? It's not worth the time to trace them back to their den where a wasp and hornet spray would make short work of their colony. And besides, I want to spend my time watching my kids' soccer game or fellowshipping at the picnic with my family and friends instead of chasing insects. So how can these denizens of the dog days be kept at bay with the least amount of trouble?
Mountain Dew!
I'll explain, but first I have to tell a story. As a young landscaper, these creatures were the bane of the landscape sight. Along with multiple painful stings, they ruined many of my afternoon sodas. Although I am now a Diet Coke man, I was into sugar pop as a young man. I would crack open a frosty soda can on a hot day, take a generous swig, then set it down to dive into some hard, hot work. Once, when returning for another swig, I very nearly swallowed one of the critters who was swimming in my soda. THAT would have been a BAD day!
This led to my use of 12 ounce bottles with lids - so I could see my soda before I drank it, and so I could cap it again after each drink. Once, when the lid was not replaced, a yellow jacket flew into the bottle. As I watched, he landed on the side and drank some soda. When he attempted to fly off, he had to first walk through the small hole he had flown in. All it took was one bump on the side of the bottle and he fell into his heavenly dinner, never to fly again. A light bulb turned on, and a life enhancement was born. From that day forward, when we got into the hot days of August and September, we kept a bottle of Mountain Dew handy. We would place it in the area where the Yellow Jackets were most problematic, and leave the cap off for them to enjoy. As we identified the direction from which the insects were coming, we would move it closer, intercepting them before they became a problem for our jobsite. Aaah! Much more comfortable.
After years of landscaping and experimenting with various sodas and bottle sizes, here is what we have learned.
Mountain Dew is the best bait in our experience. Other sugary sodas can't seem to match its drawing power, perhaps because of the real juice used in the soda.
Empty the bottle of 2/3 of its contents. This gives the wasps room to enter, drink, and attempt to fly away. It's the flying - bumping into the top and sides - that causes them to lose flight control and fall into the drink. It also allows a little extra soda so that you can dump out the top 1/2 inch when the bodies pile up thick enough (ok, that sounds a little morbid) for other wasps to actually land on them, regain their wings, and make a second run at escaping. A 20 ounce bottle should be able to hold about 20 wasps before this becomes a problem.
A 12 or 20 ounce bottle works best. Cans don't allow for checking of the trap and do allow easy landing and escape for the wasps. 2 liter bottles have too wide a neck, and too much flying space inside. Again, this allows for some escape to occur. 12 and 20 ounce bottles have the perfect combination of easy entrance and difficult escape.
Do not spill soda on the outside of the bottle. No free lunches. You want the wasps to enter the bottle, not land on the outside.
Place the bottle where the yellow jackets are the biggest problem. Once you have attracted them, pay attention to the direction from which they are flying. Move the bottle in the direction of their approach until it is out of the way of your event.
Enjoy your picnic!
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