How to Make a Hornet Trap | Simple DIY Bottle Build

A homemade hornet trap made from a plastic bottle can effectively reduce hornet activity when built with the right entry holes and sweet bait.

Dealing with hornets around your yard or garden doesn’t have to mean expensive sprays or calling an exterminator. A simple plastic bottle trap, built with materials you already have and baited with common kitchen ingredients, can pull hornets away from your patio or play area. Below are the exact instructions for building a trap that catches hornets without a high by-catch of beneficial insects.

WSDA Method: The Official Bottle Trap Build

This version uses H-shaped cuts near the top of a clear plastic bottle to create entry tabs that hornets can push through but larger insects cannot easily exit.

Start with a clear 2-liter soda bottle with the cap still on. Draw a horizontal 2 cm (about ¾-inch) line near the top third of the bottle. Then draw a vertical 1 cm (about ⅜-inch) line above and below each end of the horizontal line, forming an H shape. Repeat this H pattern on the remaining sides of the bottle — typically three or four sides. Use a box cutter to cut along all the lines, creating small tabs. Fold each tab inward so the opening stays accessible to hornets. Replace the bottle cap securely.

Bait it with one of the WSDA’s official recipes: 4 ounces (½ cup) of rice cooking wine mixed with 4 ounces (½ cup) of orange juice, or 8 ounces (1 cup) of dark brown sugar stirred into 8 ounces (1 cup) of water until mostly dissolved. Pour about 2–3 inches of bait into the bottle bottom. Hang it where you have spotted hornet activity, but away from doors, grills, or seating areas.

Common DIY Variant: Inverted Bottle Top

A widely repeated alternative method uses the shape of the bottle itself as a funnel. Cut the top off a 2-liter bottle at the widest point, about 2.5 cm below the shoulder where the neck starts to flare. Remove the cap and drill three 7 mm holes into it (or for a simpler version, just leave the cap off entirely). Invert the cut-off top into the bottle’s bottom so the neck points downward like a funnel, and tape or staple the edges to secure it. Fill the bottom with sweet bait — any combination of sugar water, fruit juice, or beer works. The funnel design makes entry easy but exit confusing for hornets. If using this design, add 2–3 small drainage holes near the top edge of the bottle so rain doesn’t overflow the trap.

Making Your Trap Safer for Other Insects

Hornet traps inevitably catch some beneficial insects — bees, flies, and moths — unless you build in escapes. The Somerset Beekeepers Association recommends drilling 4 mm diameter escape holes around the bottle’s sides, positioned 2–3 cm above the bait level. These small holes let smaller insects climb out while hornets, which are larger and less agile, stay trapped. You can also fill the bottom inch or two with gravel or a natural sponge to give caught insects a dry surface; keep the liquid level below that fill so nothing drowns. Check the trap every few days and refresh the bait weekly, especially during hot weather when fermentation changes the scent.

If you’d rather buy a proven trap instead of building one yourself, our tested roundup of the best hornet and wasp traps covers ready-made models that work with minimal maintenance.

Common Mistakes That Cause Traps to Fail

• Using an opaque bottle.
• Hanging the trap too high. Higher traps catch fewer hornets and are harder to monitor.
• Skipping escape holes. Without small drain or escape openings, rain can dilute your bait and drown catches, spoiling the trap’s effectiveness.
• Wrong bait for the season. Adjust your recipe as summer progresses.
• Not refreshing the bait. Stale or fermented bait repels hornets. Change the liquid every 5–7 days during peak activity.