{"id":774,"date":"2026-03-04T16:42:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/?p=774"},"modified":"2026-08-22T18:19:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T16:19:45","slug":"hornet-traps-quality-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/pieges-a-frelons-avertissement-sur-la-qualite\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian hornet traps: quality warning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prospective buyers\u2014whether individuals or professionals\u2014would be well advised to do their research before purchasing trap kits, inquiring about the materials used and the seller\u2019s knowledge of the Asian hornet, bees, and the products they sell to combat this pest.

With access to a 3D printer, many unscrupulous individuals have sensed an opportunity and are selling batches of \u00abnew\u00bb traps at unbeatable prices on online marketplaces such as Leboncoin, Etsy, and eBay. And for good reason: neither designers, nor professionals, nor users\u2014and certainly not beekeepers\u2014who have sometimes never even seen a single yellow-legged hornet in the wild, they\u2019ve simply downloaded free 3D trap design files from the internet\u2014which, incidentally, they often aren\u2019t even allowed to sell! (In most cases, free 3D files are available only on the obvious condition that they be used exclusively for personal and private purposes\u2014and certainly not for business!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before buying, \u00abhave some fun\u00bb by asking them about the design and effectiveness tests conducted on these traps, or about their design expertise, their knowledge of hornets, beekeeping, the size of the entry and exit openings, and so on. Are they designers? Manufacturers? Resellers? Beekeepers? These are all questions and answers rarely addressed in the ad copy.
Provided they agree to answer you (honestly), you\u2019ll sometimes be surprised by their responses\u2014and also to discover that these traps are most often made of a fragile, biodegradable plastic that\u2019s completely unsuitable for outdoor use (PLA filament, polylactic acid made from cornstarch), but they are very easy to print and inexpensive. Parts produced using this plastic have a very high-quality finish, similar to that of a manufactured product.

Worse still, trap grids made from this material are so fragile that they cannot withstand\u2014or barely withstand\u2014installation, even the slightest impact, or\u2014even more worryingly\u2014the mandibles of trapped Asian hornets that are far from pleased with their fate. In any case, a poorly designed trap will have other structural flaws even if it is made from more durable plastics such as PE or ABS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Asian hornets trapped in a trap remain alive for several days, devouring other captured insects, such as this wasp. They show no discrimination; their weakened or smaller counterparts are also part of the feast. The aggressiveness and energy they display in doing everything they can to survive and return to their colony are exceptional and, it must be said, command admiration.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Before making a purchase, always be wary of listings that lack photos showing the trap set up in the wild, near an apiary, with hornets inside. If you ask for them and the seller is unable to provide them, it\u2019s best to walk away. AI may work wonders, but it\u2019s not advanced enough to fool a keen eye.

Finally, many of these traps are poor, illegal copies of designs protected by intellectual property rights, which took their designers months to create (I know what I\u2019m talking about\u2014I\u2019ve learned this the hard way\u2026)

Shoppers who buy discount traps, thinking they\u2019re doing their part to combat the Asian hornet, are being duped. Meanwhile, these winged predators remain free as a bird.

Finally, and without meaning to scare you, you should know that an Asian hornet is a true flying demon, capable of hovering 1.5 meters above the ground before attacking its victim repeatedly. I\u2019ve been stung before while weeding my orchard, and I can attest to its aggression and relentless nature for no apparent reason. The pain from the multiple stings it inflicted on me is indescribable. If it manages to escape from a trap that\u2019s not designed to catch it, it will be in a very, very bad, venomous mood and take out its frustration as soon as it\u2019s free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIf you see a beekeeper running, run without thinking.\u201d An old beekeeping saying <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion<\/strong>
Buy your traps from professionals who work hard every day and pay high operating costs\u2014from designers and manufacturers who know what they're doing.
And also to beekeepers, because YES, you have to be a beekeeper to understand and combat the Vespa velutina, to trap it selectively\u2014because it\u2019s entirely possible\u2014and to do so with all the necessary precautions.
Why not pay a visit to a beekeeper near you? He\u2019ll give you excellent advice and will be delighted if you help with trapping founder queens at the start of the season, for example. In doing so, you\u2019ll not only protect his bees, of course, but also safeguard the population from this invasive, uncontrollable, and deadly spread.

A thousand thanks to you for standing up for bees and intellectual property.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Les futurs acheteurs particuliers ou professionnels seraient bien avis\u00e9s de se renseigner avant d\u2019acheter des lots de pi\u00e8ges, sur les mat\u00e9riaux utilis\u00e9s et sur les connaissances du vendeur en mati\u00e8re de frelon asiatique, d\u2019abeilles et sur les articles qu\u2019ils vendent contre ce nuisible. Disposant d\u2019une imprimante 3D, nombre de particuliers peu scrupuleux ont flair\u00e9 l\u2019aubaine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1342,530],"tags":[537,535,536,540,1284,1283,533,1282,534,539,1280,1281,538],"class_list":["post-774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles-dopinion","category-le-marche-de-la-3d","tag-3d","tag-apiculture","tag-arnaque","tag-concepteur-produit","tag-ebay","tag-etsy","tag-frelons-asiatiques","tag-leboncoin","tag-marche","tag-metier","tag-piege","tag-pla","tag-vente-en-ligne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apiobi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}