Wasp control & beekeeping equipment

Work out what it is.
Then deal with it.

We sell traps, protective kit and tools — and no insecticide at all. Most of what goes wrong with wasps starts with somebody misidentifying a honeybee, or going up a ladder they should not have been on.

No insecticide, everFree shipping over $75 30-day returnsShips same day before 2pm PT
A beekeeper in protective gear lifting a frame covered in bees

Equipment

What we stock

Four categories, eight products. Everything here is a physical tool — nothing we sell is a pesticide, and the attractant in our traps is food-grade bait.

Traps

Lantern Wasp Trap

Reusable glass-and-steel trap that catches wasps and leaves honeybees alone.

$28 View
Protection

Sting-Rated Full Suit

Three-layer ventilated mesh. The gap between fabric and skin is what stops the sting.

$189 View

See the full shop

Before you buy anything

Is it actually a wasp?

Roughly half the enquiries we get are about honeybees, bumblebees or hoverflies. Three of those are protected or beneficial, and none of them should be trapped. Here is how to tell them apart.

Yellowjacket

Vespula spp.

  • Bright, hard-edged yellow and black bands
  • Hairless and glossy
  • Legs tucked in flight
  • Nest papery, often underground or in a cavity

A trap is appropriate. Nests in walls or above head height are a professional job.

Paper Wasp

Polistes spp.

  • Longer, narrower body than a yellowjacket
  • Legs dangle visibly in flight
  • Open honeycomb nest with no outer shell
  • Much less aggressive than a yellowjacket

Often best left alone if the nest is away from doors and walkways.

Bald-Faced Hornet

Dolichovespula maculata

  • Black with an ivory-white face and markings
  • Large — up to 20mm
  • Grey football-shaped aerial nest
  • Defends a wide radius

Do not approach. This is a professional removal, every time.

Honeybee

Apis mellifera

  • Golden-brown, fuzzy, softer outline
  • Amber not bright yellow
  • Carries pollen on hind legs
  • Dies after stinging once

Never treat. A swarm is free-collected by local beekeepers; a wall colony needs a removal specialist.

Bumblebee

Bombus spp.

  • Round, very furry, audibly heavy flight
  • Broad bands, often with a white or orange tail
  • Small colony, usually under 400
  • Rarely stings unless handled

Leave alone. The colony dies back naturally by autumn and will not return to the same site.

Hoverfly

Syrphidae

  • Hovers dead still, then darts sideways
  • Two wings, not four
  • Large fly-like eyes meeting at the top
  • No sting at all

Harmless mimic. No sting, no nest, and a useful pollinator. Nothing to do.

The full identification guide

Honeybees

A swarm is not an infestation

A honeybee swarm hanging in a garden is a colony between homes. It carries no stores, so it has almost nothing to defend and is usually docile. It will typically move on by itself within 48 hours.

Your local beekeeping association will very often come and collect it for nothing. Spraying it is the one genuinely wrong answer, and it is the one people reach for first.

Swarm or colony?

A dense swarm of honeybees clustered on a branch

How we think about it

Three rules we actually follow

01

Identify before you act

A trap in the wrong place kills pollinators and does nothing about your problem. Thirty seconds with a chart beats a season of guessing.

02

Equipment, not poison

We do not sell insecticide and will not start. If a nest genuinely needs chemical treatment, that is a licensed professional's job.

03

Know where to stop

Above head height, inside a wall, bigger than a football, or anyone in the house is allergic — put the kit down and make a phone call.

Questions

Do you sell insecticide?

No, and we do not plan to. Everything here is equipment: traps, protection, tools. The attractant is a food-grade bait with no poison in it. If a nest genuinely needs chemical treatment, that is a licensed professional's job, not a mail-order one.

Will your trap catch honeybees?

The 9mm entry cones turn away most honeybees and bumblebees, which are bulkier than a yellowjacket. No passive trap is perfect. Siting it away from flowering plants makes far more difference than the cone size does.

I have found a nest. Can I remove it myself?

Sometimes. A small, visible, ground-level nest with nobody allergic in the household is within reach of a careful person in proper kit. A nest above head height, inside a wall or roof, or larger than a football is not. Our safety page sets out the line in detail.

Someone in the house is allergic to stings.

Then do not attempt any removal yourself, at any size, in any kit. Protective equipment reduces risk; it does not eliminate it. Call a professional and stay indoors while they work.

There is a swarm of bees in my garden.

Do not spray it. A honeybee swarm is docile, usually moves on within 48 hours, and your local beekeeping association will very often collect it for free. Our identification page explains how to tell a swarm from a colony.

How fast do you ship?

Orders placed before 2pm Eastern go out the same working day. Protective equipment can be returned unworn within 30 days; opened attractant cannot, for hygiene reasons.

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