How to Safely Kill Wasps and Hornets

Looking for a way to safely kill wasps?

 

Quite by accident, I found a way to safely kill hornets and wasps. Sure, you can use those spray bombs but even those make us a bit nervous we will get stung by angry wasps.

If you do use a spray bomb, make sure to wait until later at night. By then, most, if not all, of the wasps will have returned to the nest for the night. That’s the very best way to be ensure killing as many wasps as possible.

However, the following method works as well to safely kill hornets or wasps 🙂 And it’s dead simple. And cheap.

How to Safely Kill Hornets and Wasps

 

These mean guys are attracted to beer and I found that out by accident. That year we had  a real invasion of wasps; every several years we seem to get a much worse year than others. And that year, they were everywhere. 

It was so bad, there were times we could not even sit on the porch overlooking the garden. There were that many wasps. And they seemed angry.

You know why they weren’t angry? Because we weren’t letting them have our beer! So, if you’re in a group of friends, having a beer and the wasps arrive, just realize they want your beer.

 

Why are Wasps Attracted to Beer?

Some people think that the reason wasps are attracted to beer is because they have been eating fruit in the summer. Then as the season gets later, fruit still on trees and shrubs starts to decay.

Fruit of course has a lot of natural sugars so when it starts to decay, it starts to begin the fermentation process. The wasps are attracted to the taste. 

And then, along comes someone with an open beer! Beer also contains sugars. And beer also has fermented. 

So the beer serves as a wasp attractant, right? 

Here’s a Dead Simple Wasp Trap 

So now on hot summer afternoons when they are wasps or hornets out, I make sure I place a few tall glasses filled less than one-quarter full with our homemade beer.

Mason jars work great for these, especially if you use the quart sized mason jars. Pint mason jars will work too but you want to be sure the walls are high enough so the wasps won’t be able to climb out of the jar to freedom.

 

 

You can buy special wasp traps and give those a try. Here’s a hack for making your own paper wasp trap.

Or you can try the specialized long range wasp sprays over on Amazon; these do work well. Just remember to do the spraying later in the evening.

And, don’t stick around to see what happens. Spray and get moving back into the house or other building. Spraying won’t kill all the wasps in the trap instantly. Some will immediately fly out and they will be angry. So get inside as soon as possible. Spray and move!

But, why not just try the dead simple wasp trap instead? Give it a try – place some partial cups of beer in a few choice places where you see hornets or wasps hanging around.

You should find it’s the easiest way to safely kill wasps. Just walk away and enjoy the rest of that beer.

 

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(originally published 2013; updated 2020)