Dealing with Yellowjackets in Fall Raspberries

The past two years we have seen an increase in yellowjackets devouring our fall raspberries. Has anyone had any luck with trapping them? If so, did you make the trap or buy it? Has anyone come across any info on trapping the queens in spring, after they emerge? An entymologist said they are looking for protein sources then, and maybe a trap laden with fish would catch them. Thoughts?

The trouble with trying to trap them in the spring is that there are probably a number of yellow jacket colonies in your neighborhood and there's no way you could posssibly catch all the queens. If you've got them making nests in your yard then there are ways to deal with those (if you know where they're nesting you can have someone come in and take care of them even if trying to trap the queen in the spring didn't work), but if they're in your neighbor's yard there's not much you can do about them and they'll still have easy access to your berries. I'd try buying some yellow jacket traps and hang them up somewhere not too far from the raspberries and see if that helps any. You might be able to make your own traps too, but the ones you can buy aren't that expensive and you know they'll work so I'd probably go with the pre-made ones.

I did a search on Yahoo for homemade yellow jacket traps. One had a fish suspended a few inches above a vat of soapy water. The yellowjackets, greedy little dudes, fall to their death due to the weight of the fish flesh they are trying to cart away. It seems the jackets are looking for protein until the late summer, then the hive switches to fermenting fruits and sugars...just when the fall bearers are in full swing. I'm sure I have been providing the source for their increase with my plantings.
As for neighborhood, we are on a 35 acre plot with only a couple houses nearby. I couldn't find the nests if I tried! Well, I did find one last year, stepped right over it and heard that ominous "burrrrrrrr". I think I'll try to trap them out with fish during the season, to keep the brood down, so there won't be a huge swarm come fall raspberry sesaon (they don't bother the summer raspberries, as they are looking for meat). I don't want to eradicate them, just balance them to acceptable levels (well, OK, I used to be CIA).