Does vinegar help against wasps? Does vinegar smell really drive wasps away?

There is nothing better in summer than drinking coffee in the garden or having a barbecue with friends and acquaintances in the evening. It won't be long before more blackheads have appeared. Wasps are particularly active during the summer. Your stings are uncomfortable and painful, they can only be life-threatening for allergy sufferers. The wasps can be attacked with various home remedies, including vinegar. How it works, more about this below.

Drive away wasps

Usually wasps are a peaceful people. They only sting when they feel threatened. They can become particularly aggressive after consuming honey and jam or through incorrect human behavior. Then the risk of a wasp sting is high. People with an allergy can quickly get into trouble.

As a rule, only two of eight native wasp species, the German wasp and the common wasp, become annoying. They live in big states under the earth or in one

nest in the roof beams. Before thinking about expulsion or even killing, it should be borne in mind that wasps are also useful. she

• pollinate plants
• are food for birds
• eat mosquitoes, spiders, flies, larvae of beetles and carrion
• are the health police among the insects
• so help with pest control
• are therefore important regulators in the ecosystem
• are partly under species protection

Note: According to § 39 number 1 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG) it is forbidden to deliberately disturb wild animals (including wasps), to catch, injure or kill them without good reason. Fines can be imposed, up to 65,000 euros for protected species.

Vinegar against wasps

A reasonable reason to drive wasps away, however, is already present if they annoy humans. With the help of various home remedies, the black and yellow flying insects can be quickly tackled. The animals have a sensitive olfactory system. This peculiarity should be made use of in the eviction. Wasps are sensitive to frankincense, lemon with spiked cloves, lavender, basil and garlic.

In addition, animal-friendly wasp repellants can be used with overripe fruit, raw meat or a bowl of sugar water and vinegar. Vinegar or the smell of vinegar do not drive away the little fliers, but they are magically attracted by it. Vinegar serves here rather than Attractant for wasps.

Before using vinegar, the flight behavior of the insects should be carefully observed. After that, the attractant can be set up at some distance, at least 10 meters from the terrace, but within the flight path. The wasps will retreat to this place and the terrace will be free from the pests.

tip: Vinegar has proven to be very effective as an attractant. Bees and bumblebees find this smell off-putting and avoid the mixture. The vinegar should make up a third of the liquid.

Live trap

However, if all home remedies fail and the wasps keep spreading, a wasp live trap can help. It is a container specially prepared with attractants. This will attract and distract the wasps. The little fliers are only captured here and can be released again at a later date. Various substances can be used as bait, such as

• Sugar water
• Beer / fruit juice (apple, orange)
• overripe grapes and of course
• vinegar

Build a wasp trap yourself

A wasp trap made from old PET bottles is a simple alternative to the commercially available traps. For this you need:

• an empty PET bottle without a lid
• Bait solution
• Scissors or utility knife

Such a wasp trap can be created in just a few simple steps. It doesn't even take a lot of skill.

• Cut off the top third of the bottle
• place bait in the lower part
• Insert the cut end upside down like a funnel into the bottle
• Do not fasten the funnel
• rejuvenating entrance becomes a trap
• Wasps come out badly
• can be left free in a distant place
• easy cleaning
• reusable

Bait solution

For the live trap, a mixture with vinegar has proven itself to attract the wasps. The following is required to prepare the bait solution

• a shot glass of vinegar
• a pinch of salt and
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar
• Napkin or kitchen towel

All ingredients must be mixed well. A serviette or, alternatively, a kitchen towel is then soaked with this liquid and placed in the lower part of the PET bottle. Leftovers from the shot glass can still be spread on the napkin. The trap only needs to be closed, as described above.

Correct setup

Of course, it is of little use if the live trap is in the immediate vicinity of the dining table. The following should be observed when setting up

• at least 5 to 10 meters away from the dining table or terrace
• Set up against the wind direction
• Otherwise, wasps will be attracted to the smell of the food
• at best set up several wasp traps

If possible, the small fliers should be released when it is already getting a bit dark. The wasps are then a bit calmer and do not react more aggressively. Only the funnel has to be removed slowly and carefully from the bottle.

tip: A wasp live trap is also suitable for setting up indoors, in case the black and yellow insects should have strayed into the house.

Why a live trap?

The trade offers different variations of wasp traps. However, the wasps find an agonizing drowning death here. According to information from the Naturschutzbund (NABU), it usually only affects weak animals, the active and strong can partially escape. It should also be borne in mind

• Wasps are useful
• eat pests
• when dying, secretion of a pheromone
• thereby attracting further aggressive conspecifics

A good alternative here is the use of a live trap, then both humans and wasps can be happy.

However, there is no patent recipe for wasp repellent. Good information, precautionary measures and correct behavior can make coexistence with wasps peaceful. You should always stay calm and not irritate the wasps unnecessarily, for example by hitting them, spraying them with water or blowing them away. Wasps then feel just like humans, they can react irritably.