Citizen Led Trapping
This guidance has been developed to ensure that monitoring matches the currently known status of Asian hornet (also known as the yellow-legged Asian hornet) in Ireland. At the time of writing (March 2026) there is no evidence of Asian hornet overwintering in Ireland.
Why is widespread trapping not currently recommended in Ireland?
Trapping for Asian hornet has a great deal of appeal. It gives a sense of visible and proactive effort in response to a high risk invasive species. However, during the early stage of the invasion in Ireland, a widespread trapping programme for Asian hornet is expected to be of limited effectiveness.
| Diverting effort and resources | There is no evidence of overwintering queens in Ireland. This has been determined through:
Therefore, the strategy Ireland needs for success of our goal of eradication is to detect Asian hornet nests before they reproduce. Furthermore, the experience from other countries indicates that Asian hornet will arrive in Ireland and will bypass all our defences. A spring queen may travel through our ports on an item of cargo or on a specific product, but that product could end up anywhere across the island of Ireland. With this in mind, trapping for Asian hornet is more likely to give a false sense of security and divert effort that would be better spent on other actions. It is only by increasing awareness of the species, accurate identification and rapid reporting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre that Ireland will effectively manage nests – preventing establishment. |
| The risk of significant bycatch in Ireland is far higher than the probability a trap will capture a lone queen in the Irish countryside | Bycatch are non-target species caught unintentionally in a trapping programme. Certain traps or badly managed traps carry with them a significant risk of bycatch. Even traps modified to reduce bycatch can accumulate a significant amount over weeks and months. |
| Any trapping efforts should be targeted and strategic to risk | Setting up a network of traps across Ireland has a very low probability of detecting Asian hornets while the species is either absent or at a very low level in a specific area.
After hibernating over winter, the queen will emerge and seek out a sweet, carbohydrate-rich food source in order to build up energy to commence building a small embryo nest. Normally, queens will stay relatively close to where they emerge from hibernation. During construction of the embryo nest, the queen is alone and vulnerable and will usually only forage up to 250 metres from that nest. Therefore, unless a trap is placed in this very small area, success is very unlikely. For example, even a trap set at one end of a parish or community has a very small chance of attracting a queen at the other end during the early stages of invasion. |
| Unclear effectiveness | Traps are not always attractive to Asian hornets – especially during the early stages of invasion.
For example, the experience from New Zealand indicates that after significant trapping effort, the majority of Asian hornet nests were found following targeted searches in the focal area. |
What can members of the public do instead?
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Raise awareness of this species among your family, friends and wider community.
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Learn how to identify Asian hornet and species that are commonly confused for Asian hornet.
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Sign up to be part of the Bumblebee Monitoring Scheme. Not only are you helping to understand Ireland’s bumblebee population, but for eight months of the year, you can systematically check for Asian hornet on your bumblebee monitoring scheme walk. Bumblebee Monitoring Scheme – National Biodiversity Data Centre
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Follow the National Biodiversity Data Centre and NPWS on social media. Updates might be infrequent during this phase of the invasion but crucial updates will be provided.
Please remember that looking out for Asian hornet and submitting suspected sightings is the single most effective action everyone can take.
Report suspected sightings in Ireland with a photograph through this online form https://records.biodiversityireland.ie/record/invasives or the Biodiversity Data capture app.
If you still choose to set traps
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Please select traps that are the lowest risk to native insects and pollinators.
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If your trap is attracting and killing a lot of smaller insects, then please consider removing your trap.
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Unless there is a very specific local coordinated effort led by NPWS or the members of the Asian Hornet Management Group, please do not construct your own trap. While there is a lot of guidance available online, these have been developed in other countries and are not required or recommended for Ireland. These traps may have a higher non-target impacts when compared to traps that have been specifically designed to reduce non-targets.
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Be prepared to monitor your traps and find ways to make sure you do not forget a trap. This will help reduce the risk to non-target species and also ensure traps are maintained in good working condition.
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Please remember to remove it from the environment if you are no longer able to maintain it.
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In the summer months, you can consider augmenting your efforts by setting up a bait station or wick pot. Leave the bait station out for a few hours or overnight before hand, then sit and watch your station on the next day to see what visits. You can do this in your garden, or even leave the station somewhere appropriate so you can watch the station from indoors.
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Please learn about the Asian hornet lifecycle and only deploy traps at the right time of the year. Take traps in during the winter months.
During this phase of the invasion, the members of the Asian Hornet Management Group will continue to highlight the limitations of public led trapping. However, should the evidence indicate that trapping is indeed required, please consider how you can support this.