Bees and wasps play a vital role in the ecosystem, but when they are attracted to the sweet and salty foods found around the house, they can turn into a problem. If a colony has nested near your home, call a specialist company or beekeeper, but in the meantime, you can keep the bugs under control with traps made from two-liter bottles to prevent them from entering the house. Carpenter bees digging holes in wood must be caught with a wooden trap with a glass jar attached to the base.
Bees are precious creatures that play a very important role in nature. Before considering any solution that could kill or damage them, contact a beekeeper or the competent office of your municipality to remove the colonies that have nested on your property.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: with a bottle of soda
Step 1. Cut the top third of a clean 2 liter bottle, a soft drink is fine
Remove the cap and use a utility knife to make the incision just below where the neck walls start to go straight. Try to follow a uniform trajectory, you can wrap the bottle with masking tape to define the cut line.
Step 2. Flip the part you just cut and slide it into the bottom section
Hold the neck of the bottle (from which you removed the cap) upside down and insert it into the cylindrical body of the container. Keep the structure still with your fingers and fix it with staples inserted in four diametrically opposite areas.
- If you don't have a stapler, use duct tape to seal the joining point between the base of the trap and the inverted neck of the bottle.
- If you want to reuse the trap, use clothes pegs instead; in this way, you just have to remove them, open the structure, empty it, clean it and add the bait again.
Step 3. Drill holes and thread the string to hang the frame
Make two holes 2.5 cm from the top edge so that they are on opposite sides of the bottle. Use a drill bit large enough for the diameter of the rope; thread a piece of rope into the two holes and, after joining the two ends with a knot, you can hang the trap.
Step 4. Use honey or sugar water as bait
Pour the substance of your choice directly into the base of the trap; you don't need a large amount, just a thin layer is enough to attract bees. Insects are attracted by the sweetness of the bait, enter the trap without finding their way out and eventually die inside.
Save the life of the bees by using only sugar water or honey. When you see them inside the bottle, take the entire container away from home and carefully free the bugs
Step 5. Poison them with laundry soap
To make sure the insects that enter the trap do not come out alive, add 15ml of liquid soap to the cloth. Mix it thoroughly with the bait using a cutlery; the detergent poisons and kills the bees that eat it.
Step 6. Place the traps near the access points used by the insects
However, be careful not to place them too close together, otherwise they could attract more bees to the house. Prefer sunny spots because the heat and light make the bait even more palatable, as well as killing insects faster.
Hanging traps are more effective than those placed on the ground; however, the latter prove to be a good solution for protecting windows
Step 7. Inspect the bottles every two weeks
If you have stapled the structure, you must remove them to clean and "rearm" the traps or you can build new ones; if not, you can peel off the clothes pegs or duct tape, throw away the contents of the bottles, wash the inside walls and add fresh bait.
These traps attract several types of insects, including ants. Use natural methods to prevent them from entering your home and to get rid of them
Method 2 of 3: for Carpenter Bees
Step 1. Draw a line at a 45 ° angle on the 10x10 cm section pole
Lay it on its side on the work surface. Use a square to draw a 45 ° line from one corner of the post to the opposite edge. Once a cut is made along that segment, the section will have two 18cm and two 10cm sides.
Step 2. Cut the pole along the line you just drew
Place the piece of wood on a safe surface to do this job; for example, you can clamp it with a vise on a work table or scrap wood block to make it easier to cut the marked portion. Then proceed using a circular saw.
- Be careful when using this tool; if you proceed carelessly, you could get very hurt. Always wear safety glasses and a face mask.
- Alternatively, use a hand saw, although in this case the work is more time consuming and tiring.
Step 3. Cut the opposite side of the pole to complete the operation if necessary
The blade of some saws cannot cover the full width of the piece of wood; in this case, you have to rotate the latter, make another mark at 45 ° and complete the cut.
Step 4. Drill a hole in the flat base of the pole
Turn the piece of wood over so that the flat base is facing up; use a tape measure and pencil to make a mark in the center of the surface before drilling a hole 10cm deep and 22mm in diameter.
- Take care to proceed perpendicular to the base of the trap.
- If you do not have great skill in estimating distances, measure the tip of the drill and make a mark at 10 cm; then make it penetrate the wood up to this point.
Step 5. Drill access holes on the four sides of the pole
Each of the four sides must have a hole for the trap to be as efficient as possible. Take the tape measure and a pencil to find the location of each opening, which must be 5 cm from the bottom and 2 cm from the side edges.
Step 6. Verify that these entrances are angled 45 ° upwards
Keep a square near the hole to assess the slope; an angle of 45 ° is halfway between the perfectly vertical position and the perfectly horizontal one. Have the drill follow this inclined trajectory and drill the bit until it reaches the hole you drilled from the bottom.
- Proceed in this way for all the reference marks you drew on the four sides of the pole; each hole should lead to the central one that starts from the flat base.
- The inclination of the openings does not have to be perfect; to estimate it in a simple and accurate way you can use a template available in any hardware store.
Method 3 of 3: Attach the Mason Jar to the Base
Step 1. Trace the references on the cap using a permanent marker
Remove the flat portion of the lid from the threaded ring. Measure and mark in the center, then divide the distance from the center to the circumference in half on both sides; draw a small segment at these two medial points.
At the end you get three marks arranged in a straight line, the first is the center of the lid and the other two are located to its right and left, in the midpoint between the circumference and the center itself
Step 2. Drill the holes
Place an awl over one of the three marks and hit it with a hammer using moderate force; in doing so, the tip should go through the lid. Repeat for the other two marks left.
Place the lid on a scrap wood block or sturdy metal surface to prevent the awl from ruining your work table
Step 3. Drill a hole in the center of the lid
Flip it over so the punched side is facing down and drill a hole in the center with a 12mm metal drill bit. This creates some pretty sharp metal shavings that you have to throw in the trash.
The center hole may have a sharp "burr" on the edge, remove it with a file to avoid injury
Step 4. Attach the cap to the base of the pole
Insert it into the threaded ring and align the center hole with the one on the flat base of the wooden post; then fix the cap to the piece of wood by inserting a screw in each of the two holes you made with the awl.
Step 5. Add an eyelet hook at the top to hang the trap
Take your measurements and make a mark in the center of the sloped end of the pole; drill a screw hole here and insert the eyelet hook. Then screw the jar to the cap that is now mounted at the base of the trap and hang everything up to catch the carpenter bees.
Step 6. Hang the trap in areas where there are insect holes
Carpenter bees are attracted to the holes in the trap and enter it to lay their eggs; however, the 45 ° inclined tunnels confuse them causing them to fall into the jar from which they cannot escape.
- When the insects leave the nest, seal the holes with putty, wooden pins, or special foam rubber that can kill them.
- By blocking access to the nests, you force them to look for a more comfortable place to create their own home, for example your trap.
Warnings
- Improper use of tools, especially power tools such as circular saws, could cause serious damage or permanent disability.
- While not typically aggressive, swarms can prove dangerous when insects are nervous. When you work or install traps near the nests, wait until the bees are active; do not use torches or lanterns because the light attracts them.
- Bee venom allergy is a serious problem; if you suffer from it, keep medications, such as Epipen, on hand in case of a sting.
