Monitoring Stations & Traps

Spring Monitoring of Asian Hornet Queens

Asian Hornets have become established in mainland Europe since being inadvertently introduced in 2004, and populations have increased to the point that they can now only be controlled rather than eradicated. In England, there have been occasional incursions since 2016, averaging 1-2 nests per year, none of which has survived to reproduce the following year.

However,  in 2023 the NBU found and destroyed a record number of 72 nests, the majority of which in neighbouring Kent.

It is therefore vitally important that we monitor for the first signs of any over-wintering queen hornets, which may have evaded the NBU last autumn, before they get a chance to establish a population here.

There are two stages of monitoring:

  1. If you are based further than 10km from the nearest recorded 2023 nest (Rayleigh) please monitor with a Wick Monitoring Station. Asian Hornet nests have no mature workers until May so queens will need to feed regularly. When they find a highly attractive bait they will return very frequently!
  2. If you are based within 10km of the Rayleigh nest please use a monitoring trap, such as the Veto-Pharma trap. These are generic traps so it’s important to add holes for the release of unintended by-catch. Please release everything except Asian Hornets!

Stage 1: Wick Monitoring Station

You will need:

  • a jar with lid,
  • wick, e.g. J cloth,
  • drill or similar,
  • attractant, e.g. Trappit or home-made sweet bait.

To make:

  1. remove lid, make a hole in lid for wick and push wick through,
  2. part fill jar with attractant,
  3. replace lid.
  4. The hole should be big enough to not constrict the wick but not so big as to let insects into the jar.

To use:

Place monitoring station somewhere you can watch it for 10 minutes or so per day. If you see a visiting Asian Hornet, take a photo and report via the Asian Hornet Watch app. Hornets will remain still long enough to photograph while they feed.

If you are certain the insect is an Asian Hornet, you can replace the monitoring station with a monitoring trap as stage 2.

Stage 2: Commercial Trap with Bait Cloth

You will need:

  • A Commercial Trap,
  • Absorbent cloth or sponge,
  • A drill or screwdriver, heated
  • Attractant, e.g. Trappit

To make:

  1. Add a few 6-7mm holes high up on the sides of commercial traps to allow by-catch to escape. (Heat a suitably sized drill or screwdriver so as not to crack the plastic)
  2. Place absorbent cloth at the bottom of the trap,
  3. Pour just enough attractant to soak cloth,
  4. Assemble the trap.

To use:

Hang trap in your garden (in the Spring it does not have to be in the apiary)

Check and release by-catch every day.

The trap will fill mainly with indigenous wasps and flies, which can be released on a daily basis so as not to disrupt the natural local balance of pollinators, prey and predators.

If you are a little anxious about releasing wasps, you can pop the trap in the freezer for 10 minutes to subdue them before tipping out.

If an Asian Hornet is caught: take a photo and report on the Asian Hornet Watch app. Then place the whole trap in a plastic bag in the freezer for at least 24 hours and await instructions from the NBU.

Home-Made Trap

You can also make a simple version of a commercial trap by adapting a ‘Slushie’ drinks cup. This one was made by Bridget Mudd, our Asian Hornet Team Coordinator: