'Life saver' £13 hack keeps wasps away from your outdoor dining area and BBQs

One of the best parts about the summer season is spending time outdoors, and particularly enjoying a nice al fresco meal in the sunshine. However, we’ve all experienced the struggle of trying to sit and enjoy your food and having to constantly swat, run or dodge wasps who have their eyes on your meal.

Although they’re just as irritating as flies, the added danger of their stings (especially for those who are allergic) can mean that your barbecue ends up more stressful than serene. That’s why Amazon shoppers have been praising this £13 product as a ‘life saver’ for keeping them at bay.

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The Green Protect Wasp & Flying Insect Trap is easy to use and works by luring away wasps and flies from your dining area to stop them from ruining your meal. It’s also been carefully formulated so that it doesn’t attract bees, so you don’t need to worry about inadvertently killing off any bumble bees or worker bees.

Sophie Thorogood, a representative at Pest-Stop, offered some advice on using the trap, saying: “To keep wasps away from your BBQ, position a few traps around the edges of your garden or fence line. These non-toxic traps lure wasps away from your guests, patio area and food and are a great first port of call. The bait lasts for up to six weeks and refills are available for ongoing protection.”

The Green Protect Wasp & Flying Insect Trap is easy to install and is best placed somewhere shady in an area where you typically see the most wasps flying around. Simply place it on any flat surface, ideally where there’s air circulation but away from strong winds, and pour 250ml of the liquid attractant into the trap.

The solution is non-toxic, and after three weeks you can dispose of the liquid (and insects) inside, before refilling it with the remaining 250ml of the attractant liquid, giving you six weeks in total of wasp and fly repelling. You can also buy refills of the liquid for £7, making it a cost effective way to keep them at bay long term.

If you’d prefer a solution which doesn’t harm or kill the wasps but simply deters them from entering your garden, there are a couple of other ideas. Hanging a decoy wasp nest like this Waspinator one (which comes in a two pack for £9.99) can be enough to keep them from setting up camp in your garden.

They require no cleaning or maintenance, and can be simply hung up in whatever area you want to keep wasps away from – they even work when camping or caravanning. Rather than killing off the wasps, they simply change their behaviour and stop them from entering an area they think is already another wasp's territory.

Certain scents also put off wasps and stop them from arriving in your garden, with mint being one smell that keeps them at bay. Therefore you could try planting some mint plants, like these Large Mentha Mint Plants which are now on sale for £9.89 down from £10.99, to encourage wasps to stay away – not to mention give you some ready-to-use mint for cooking or your summer Pimms.

However the Green Protect Wasp & Flying Insect Trap has been praised by Amazon shoppers for its effectiveness, with one saying: “Honestly a life saver when having a bbq, kept the wasps at bay which is great for those in my family with allergies to their sting.”

Another agreed: “We have been using this for about 3 weeks, and the number of flies and wasps in our home has reduced noticeably. The bottle is filling with wasps and the flies are just staying away. I would recommend and will buy more.”

Others had less impressive results, with one shopper writing: “Placed it in several places near to a wasp nest, but it did not catch even one wasp.”

Yet another added: “Simple to setup and place, it doesn't stink at first however after a week with dead insects it can smell. I’d recommend in an elevated position indoors to avoid smell.”