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Trap Making - Step by Step

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Other Traps To Try

There are many other traditional traps you can have a try at.  Most of very simple but very effective and very satisfying to make.

None of these are in the book but I am confident you’ll be able to make these on your own.

Hazel cage trap  - made by Lloyd in Gloucestershire

The trap set and below, the trigger mechanism detail.

30 Second Wasp Trap

I’ve had a few hits this summer from people looking to make a wasp trap.  This is just another variant on the Tunnel Trap passive door principle covered in the book and is very quick and easy to make.

All you need is a large clear plastic pop bottle and
a sharp knife.

Cut the bottle into two pieces - trying to keep the cut as square as possible.  Make the closed end about 2/3 of the length.

Then invert the short section and push it gently inside the base piece so that the sides overlap.  Push too hard and the sides will buckle and make gaps that the wasps could escape from.  It needs to be a snug fit.

And there you have your completed trap !

Pour into the trap some suitably sweet and sticky liquid bait - I tent to use a mixture of pop and fruit juice but if you’re being pestered by wasps use whatever they’re coming after.  You need about 2 inches of liquid in the bottom of the trap.

Wasps will be attracted to the bait - fly or crawl down the funnel and not be able to find the hole to escape.

Don’t be tempted to mess with the trap once it has started catching - wasps caught it are likely to be a little annoyed and accidental release is not recommended.   Leave well alone and eventually the exhausted wasps will drown. Then open the two sections, tip the liquid away and reset.

‘Funnel’ multicatch mouse trap

This is another example of a ‘funnel’ trap.

You can just make out a straight wire tube or funnel in the mesh top of the trap.  It ends about half way to the floor.

The mice pass down but can’t get back up.

After reading this page, ’WhooWhoop’ emailed me to say: “Just a little tip for your wasp trap - add a couple of drops of fairy liquid to the lure - breaks the surface tension, so the wasps drown and sink.  Otherwise you get a crust of floating wasps and a trap full of angry females!”