As eventually with almost all news, the "murder hornet" story has wandered off the front pages, and what seemed like impending invasion, has been buried in other news- and the hope that 1700 syrup traps spread throughout the area will catch at least a few of the hornets, should they be out there, and the state will track those hives down and kill them.
Since none have been caught to date, it is starting to seem that they haven't in fact established colonies, as unlikely as that sounds, given the ideal habitat and earlier sightings.
In the coming month, worker hornets, if there are any out there, turn to hunting for protein sources, and it is for this stage that the hive trap is designed. Syrup traps will not be as attractive during this time- so these sorts of traps could prove to be effective.
Unfortunately, is this is correct, there are only five in existence right now. Three are here, too far away to do any good, and two others were built by a woodworker in Bellingham, one currently installed on a hive there. So- pretty much just one anywhere near the hornet.
It also takes time to get a hive used to it- not something that one should do at the last minute. I have a trap on a hive that's been there for more than a month- and the bees still aren't used to it. A week seems minimum.
I'd build a bunch and ship them up there, but I'm not sensing there is much of an interest at this point. Maybe there will be later- I hope not- but it's going to be too late anyway to do much about it then.
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