These invasive arseholes are aggressive and screw with the insect ecosystem because they have no natural predators. They sting like a bitch and are growing in plague proportions around Australia.
They’re also thieving pricks…
European wasps attack beehives, rob them of honey and even eat live bees… And I’ve been at war with them for quite a while.
Last year Anth rigged up a pyromaniacal system of pouring petrol into their hive near the house.. Which didn’t work, wasted fuel and he got rewarded by getting stung several times – which did weird things to his joints.
More recently I discovered a supercool system on a Facebook group dedicated solely to destroying these little twerps – and to my joy, worked better than expected.
What’s better? You’ll probably have everything you need already – or in worst case, you can grab the ingredients easily from the supermarket.
Protein Wasp Traps
These traps work because the ‘bait’ is protein.
I can confirm that wasps are partial to a bit of meat because I saw them feasting on a half chewed mouse a few weeks ago.
Yummo.
Anyway, bees are not attracted to protein – so our pollinator friends are safe with this nifty trick, unlike the chemmy and pesticide options you’ll see in the shops.
The basic recipe is as follows:
Rig up a contraption that contains protein in such a way that other carnivores cannot gain access. Hot tip – a roundbale is not sufficient to keep chicken-lovin’ terriers away.
Case in point.
The best way I’ve found is to suspend an old supplement tub, with the lid mostly closed but with one part propped open with something.
2) Leave the protein in an area frequented by wasps. The experts say to leave it for a few days – but I’m impatient and have had good success just leaving it up for a few hours… You’ve just gotta make sure the wasps are zooming in and out, happily feasting before you move onto the next step.
3) Add a few drops of doggy flea treatment to a fresh batch of chicken.
4) The wasps take little chunks of tainted protein back to their nests… which gloriously wipes out the rest of their comrades.
Now for fear of losing info in translation, I’d suggest you go direct to the source on the FB group ‘European Wasp Control Project’ and read the recipe there. This will make sure you get the quantities & timing right… and can get advice for your particular climate.
God speed, my MacGuyver-esque friends. Let me know how you go in the comments!
So glad you popped up on my FB feed! I love your approach to life, made my day.
Next time you actually find a nest, If you sneak out at night and dump a petrol and diesel mix – half and half – into the hole and cover it with a brick or a towel or a kick of dirt even. It is something about the fumes in the mix that works a goddam treat! I got attacked after moving an old bale of hay and 30 or so stings later, I really, really wanted to incinerate the stinging pricks, but my better half annihilated them with the mix, sadly without the joy of flames! Dead as doornails when I braved a peek the next day. The satisfaction was as palpable as the itching and burning I suffered for the following 10 days or so. However, there is more about and I’m going to seek revenge using your method above starting tomorrow!