Quite some time ago I wrote a piece about wasp traps, and how we had them up and were catching wasps. But a strange thing has happened, I have had a change of heart towards wasps. Here is how it happened.
A couple of summers ago I bought a new kind of wasp trap which was kind of like a transparent bag of what looked like sugar water and hung it in the garden near some hydrangea. A day or so after hanging it up I went to see if it was successful and there, before my eyes was a wasp swimming for its life. It must have just entered the trap because it still had a lot of energy. It was looking at me right in the eye and I took pity on it. Down came the trap and it broke open, letting the wasp fly away. I promised myself then and there to never kill another wasp. They are God's creatures and have a purpose.
Now in my garden there is a dish of water with some pebbles and colored beads in it, shallow enough that the wasps can drink without drowning. Many of them come day by day and no wasp has approached me since. When I go to put fresh water in the dish, which I do several times a day, a wasp who might be there just backs off until I am finished. Who knew that all these traps that were catching wasps were only catching a wasp that was looking for a drink.
I am happy to have saved some lives. Here is a photo of my water dish:
