I love this DIY wasp trap.

We have a lot of kids and pets playing in our yard especially now that the weather is warming up, so we try and keep things as chemical-free as possible around the house.

This DIY wasp trap is perfect for the backyard because it’s a great way to eliminate wasps while still being kind to bees.

I  know, you’re probably thinking…”What? Save the bees?”  Yes, save the bees!

Although they can sting, bees are not inherently aggressive like wasps.  Bees will generally leave people alone if you simply ignore them.

You want to leave the honeybees alone because we are actually in a bit of a honeybee crisis in the United States.  For some unexplained reason, honeybees are dying in large numbers, potentially putting the pollination needed for growing food at risk.  Simply said: no bees, no pollen, no food.  Learn more about the honeybee crisis here.

If you aren’t sure what a honeybee looks like, they are small and grayish, like this one:

Here is a picture of a wasp so that you can see the clear difference.  Don’t they just look menacing?

This DIY wasp trap solution is the perfect way to rid your yard of those pesky wasps.  It is important to locate and remove any wasp nests first.  The wasp trap and solution is a great way to eliminate any wasps sticking around.  The  all-natural solution is made up of vinegar, salt and sugar and works on wasps but isn’t appealing to the honeybees.  This mixture is more of a sweet and sour concoction which is more attractive to the wasps.

Here’s all you need for this DIY wasp trap solution (can easily be doubled or tripled):

2oz White vinegar
2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp table salt

Mix until sugar is dissolved.  If you want to speed up the mixing process, warm the vinegar in a microwave for a few seconds.  This is help the sugar melt a little faster.

That’s it!

You can simply put this mixture in little bowls spaced throughout your yard or place the solution in a bottle-style wasp trap like this one…

To make the trap:

1. Clean out your plastic bottle.  (I used a root beer bottle I had on hand)
2. Cut off the top of the bottle making sure to leave about 2 inches from the throat of the bottle.
3. Turn the top part of the bottle upside down so that the neck is seated down in the bottle and tape around the sides to secure the two pieces.
4. Wrap and glue twine or rope around the bottle.
5. Make of loop of rope and secure it on the side of the bottle and you wrap with bottle.
6. Hand on a hook and fill with the DIY wasp trap solution above.  Make sure you don’t fill the bottle up to the neck of the bottle so that the wasps can’t climb out.
7. Spray the inside of the funnel part with some cooking spray to make it easier for the wasps to fall into the trap.

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