An article on basic yellowjacket biology was sent to 30 Rhode Island newspapers, and it was published in seven. In the article, there was a request for sites at which trapping could be done. After many calls, eight residential, four restaurant and two university sites were selected for tests.

     Most of the residential sites did not have enough yellowjackets for rigorous testing, but enough information was gathered for clear results.

Throughout the tests, the Oak Stump Farms trap was either the best or, rarely, the second-best trap at collecting yellowjackets over the one week test period. Whether in a residential setting, at a restaurant or in the formal gardens at the University of Rhode Island, from mid-August to late September, the Oak Stump Farms trap consistently performed well. Among the other traps, the Green Leaf trap and the Victor trap were consistent performers, with the Green Leaf trap occasionally out-collecting the Oak Stump Farm trap. The Consep trap and the Yellow Jacket Inn also trapped yellowjackets. As a general note, Vespula germanlca made up approximately 90 percent of the trap catches with Vespula maculifrons and Vespula flavopiloza making up the rest. 

     One important point is that no trap is good at rapid "knockdown" of yellowjacket population. Few yellowjackets were collected in the first 24 hours by any trap, even when final, seven-day counts were above 100. Therefore, for effective use at outdoor events, the traps should be placed out one or more days prior to the event.

The Bait Test

     In regard to baits, apple juice frozen concentrate diluted at a 50:50 ratio with water was an excellent bait, outperforming the other two liquid baits. Apple juice is easy to obtain, relatively inexpensive and seems to improve as it ferments.

     The Green Leaf carbohydrate bait did not attract yellowjackets at rates better than the grenadine/cherry (GC) bait or regular apple juice.

     The Surefire Yellowjacket Bait provided with Consep traps radically increased the yellowjacket catch when compared to Consep traps using the GC alone.  However, Consep traps baited with the Surefire bait and GC bait did not perform as well as the Oak Stump Farms Trap baited with GC bait alone.

For ease of cleaning without stinging, the Yellow Jacket Inn and the Oak Stump Farms traps are the best. Both can be easily immersed in soapy water so the water pours into the entrance holes and the air escapes through the top. The Consep  trap has a tendency to pop open before being fully immersed (resulting in yellowjackets flying out), and both the Green Leaf trap and the Victor trap are harder to immerse so water would flow in quickly

     One note, because there are no toxic materials involved, the used bait, dead insects and soapy water used to clean the traps can almost always be disposed of on-site.

     In regard to the length of time that traps can go between servicing, the Yellow Jacket Inn had the shortest effective-use time, generally running out of bait within a day or two. Without dish soap added, the Consep, Victor and Oak Stump Farms traps generally ran out of bait within three days.  The Green Leaf trap went a week before servicing, but the protein bait, if used, required constant wetting.

     These time periods are generally less than trap-makers claim, but the PCO will probably only face the worst-case situations and therefore need to be ready to service the traps two or three times a week.

OVERALL TOP RATING

Overall, the Oak Stump Farms trap is rated the best, but the others did trap yellowjackets, based on the tests run in 1993. The Oak Stump Farms Trap is rugged, captures large numbers of yellowjackets, is easy to clean and refill and competitively priced. An additional plus was the personal service provided by the company.

Regarding the type of bait, it is recommended that PCO's start with both apple juice based and grenadine/cherry drink bits and slowly switch to the bait that the yellowjackets are going to in large numbers. Commercial baits were not sufficiently better than the homemade baits.

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