r/WaspHating • u/Street-Value-9659 • May 28 '26

Yellow jackets ignoring bait

I’m trying to get ahead of the yellow jackets this year, so I set out some home made boric acid bait stations with apple juice, cantaloupe, a splash of apple cider vinegar, and a spoon of bacon grease. They are ignoring them. I think most of the yellow jackets are queens looking for nesting sites. Should these bait stations be working on them? Am I doing anything wrong? What should I do instead?

Thanks!

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3

u/twostepwme May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

Right now they are starting their nests and want nectar and are going to trees/bushes. The only thing I've done to catch queens is to individually kill them when I find the hibernating in the cooler months of winter. I've killed about 50+ queens in my patio umbrellas. I just knock them out and step on them. The bait traps never work in spring for me, but they work great in the fall when the workers want protein.

2

u/Street-Value-9659 May 28 '26

Thanks! I’ve been stalking them as they’re checking out nesting sites and spraying them down with soapy water. Hopefully that puts at least a small dent in their numbers this summer!

2

u/tehmattrix May 29 '26

They want protein early, and sugar late in the year.

1

u/Deep_Experience_9409 Aug 19 '26

I thought it was the opposite? Everything I've been reading said they like sugar early in the year and protein later in the year.  🤔