Make:

When I was in the boy scouts we used to make a similar trap out of a paper milk carton. we'd cut the sides out from about half way up to the top where it tapers leaving the corners for support. Then we'd hang a piece of meat (usually hamburger, I'm sure yellow jackets like fish too but it would seem they're not very particular) from a piece of string inside the carton so the meat was in the center. After that we'd fill the bottom half with soapy water and hang the thing from a tree a little ways away from our campsite. You could also do this with a two liter bottle or plastic milk jug. You could even do it with just a bucket with a string tied to a stick to suspend the meat over the water.

Normally I'm opposed to killing a pest unless it's the only way to get rid of them but, having been stung by a yellow jacket before, I have no pity for these vile little creatures.

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1. This is probably illegal at most state and federal park campgrounds. If you have a problem with insects in your campsite it's because of your food and trash storage methods, or your personal hygiene.

2. If you have a problem with yellow jackets invading your home, this might be a short-term solution. But in the wild, yellow jackets are not "pests," they play a role in the ecosystem. You have invaded their environment, live with them or camp somewhere else. What's next, are you going to pull the "weeds" in your campsite, too? What about those annoying songbirds that wake you up at 4:30 am in the summer?

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It may work well on Yellow Jackets, but it's a surefire way to attract other, larger, critters (e.g. Black Bears) as well. Of course, most people probably don't have to worry about bears in their backyards, but racoons are most likely an issue.

Basically it just seems like a bad plan. Besides, sugar water and a little detergent work as a fairly effective wasp trap for a backyard.

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Boooooooo

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Can we re-pourpose this as a mosquito killer?

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We do this all the time up at the lake cabin, except with a bucket full of water and soap suds and a half-gutted fish hanging above. It's a good use for the little fish you caught that swallowed the hook. A larger animal might come by and snatch it eventually but not before you've cleared out a lot of the bees.

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In response to jswilson64's post:

1. I have no idea whether it is illegal or not, but as a person who has camped most of his life I can assure you that food/trash and BO are not the only things that attract yellow jackets. I will agree that the things you mentioned will cause them to come around, though. However they are flying insects that nest, so there are plenty of ways to come across them naturally.

2. I understand that they are not "pests" per se; however I am allergic to their stings, so in my book that qualifies them as such. I avoid them when I can but unfortunately it is not practical (or possible) for me to "live with them." Weeds and songbirds are not a direct threat to my life so i can live with them. :)

No disrespect intended, but I just felt it was necessary to point out that sometimes things aren't so cut-and-dried.

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Personally I like this idea quite a bit. Having been stung 12 times in one day by yellowjackets, I can appreciate this simple trap.

Golly, what must you others think of exterminators... I can only imagine!

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A few clarifications:
1. It IS illegal to collect insects in a federal property run by BLM, without a collecting permit. I would say a device that attracts and contains insects is a "collecting" device, like a light trap. Your State may have different rules for state parks.

2. If my post sounded judgmental, that's because it was. I guess it depends on one's definition of "camping." Setting up camp, and then setting up something to kill "pests" isn't my idea of communing with nature. I also tend to avoid activities that I know could harm me. I don't crawl through the underbrush in a Speedo, because I know I'm allergic to Poison Ivy. If I were allergic to bees and/or wasps, I would probably arrange my camping activities to avoid them, and keep my epi-pen handy.

3. On my own property, and/or at my home, I would have less of a problem keeping the hornet population down. Double standard? Sure!

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I tried this with the yellowjackets in my back yard. Tried twice. Both times I set the trap within 3-4 feet of the hole in the ground. Flys loved it and the bees ignored it and then something came by in the night and ate it both times. I then put a glass bowl over the nest with dirt around the edges to keep them from digging out. There was a lot of activity in that bowl for 3-4 days and now there is none. Of course it has been about 100 degrees for the past few days so they may have cooked also.

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I tried this with the yellowjackets in my back yard. Tried twice. Both times I set the trap within 3-4 feet of the hole in the ground. Flys loved it and the bees ignored it and then something came by in the night and ate it both times. I then put a glass bowl over the nest with dirt around the edges to keep them from digging out. There was a lot of activity in that bowl for 3-4 days and now there is none. Of course it has been about 100 degrees for the past few days so they may have cooked also.

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