How to trap and kill wasps? Introduction to several commonly used trapping and killing methods

Wasps are one of the important natural enemies of bees in mountain areas in autumn. They are hymenopteran insects that wipe out bees and steal honey, and are a major pest for mountain apiaries in summer and autumn. There are 115 common species of wasps in China. The main ones harming the beekeeping industry include the golden-ringed hornet, also known as the giant hornet, the yellow-edged hornet, the black-shielded hornet and the basic hornet, etc. How to control them is a headache for beekeepers. Several methods are introduced here in the hope of helping beekeepers.

Poisoning method

1. Use an insect net to trap a live wasp, then use sting-proof gloves (pay attention to personal protection; being stung by a wasp is no fun), put it into a wide-mouth bottle containing powder, cover it with a lid, and release it after about 1 minute, so that the wasp does not die on the spot or dies on the way back, and can also poison other members of the colony. This method is vicious; from the perspective of ecological balance, try not to use it.

2. Tie cotton onto a homemade small iron arrow, then dip it in highly toxic pesticides such as “dichlorvos” and “baomianfeng”, then use a specially made combination long pole to gently insert the “poison arrow” into the nest, so that the “poison arrow” remains in the hive forever. The poison spreads quickly inside the hive, and within several tens of minutes it can poison all the wasps in the entire nest. Because team members using this method generally do not disturb the wasps, most of them can die an “easy” death.

Burning method

Tie a piece of cotton wadding onto a dedicated iron arrow or long bamboo pole, pour gasoline or diesel onto the cotton wadding and ignite it, then firefighters wearing bee-proof suits use the torch to directly burn the wasp nest in the woods. This method is generally used against nests on wild tree branches below 8 m, and its effect is relatively good. The disadvantage is that how to find the nest is a question to be discussed.

Bagging method

The bagging method refers to using a 1 m square cloth bag to put the entire nest located on a residential balcony, window, or lower area into the bag. When removing it, the movements must be gentle, accurate, and fast. As long as these “three requirements” are done well, under normal circumstances all the adults and larvae of the entire wasp nest can be eliminated. This method generally does not leave “after-effects” and is one of the wasp-elimination methods worth promoting.

Shooting method

The shooting method refers to processing air gun bullets, tying cotton onto the rear part of the lead pellet and then dipping it in poison, firing it through an air gun into the nest so that the “poison bullet” remains in the hive. Its potency slowly spreads, causing the wasps in the hive to die. The shooting method is suitable for dealing with nests at heights above 10 m, but because the dose of poison applied to the “bullet” is relatively small, results cannot be seen in a short time; when the potency gradually weakens, its killing power becomes not very great.

Tree-cutting method

The tree-cutting method is mainly a last resort adopted when both the burning and shooting methods cannot be used. The method is to cut down the tree with the wasp nest, and after the tree falls, use bagging or pour on gasoline and burn it to destroy it. This method is generally not adopted, because first, it consumes a large amount of firefighters' physical strength, and second, it destroys forest trees, so it is not worth promoting.