Loblaw, Home Hardware pull wasp traps off store shelves after photo shows birds caught

Loblaw and Home Hardware are pulling an insect trap meant to kill wasps off store shelves after photographs posted on social media showed birds killed after getting caught in the device.

Phoenix Pike posted on Facebook this week what appears to be black-capped chickadees stuck to a “TrapStik” wasp trap.

“My heart hurts. We bought a wasp trap from Real Canadian Superstore recently as we were noticing a lot of wasps in our backyard,” Pike wrote.

“We often have little children playing there so we thought that a trap would help. Sadly unbeknownst to us it trapped 7 tiny birds as well. It is SUPER sticky.”

Pike told Global News the photographs were taken at her aunt’s backyard in Waterloo, Ont. The photographs have since gone viral with over 55,000 shares on Facebook.

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A spokesperson from Loblaw said this is the first time a complaint was made about the product, which is sold in other stores such as Walmart and Amazon.

“While we are aware other Canadian retailers carry this item, we have made the proactive decision to remove the product from our shelves,” Tammy Smitham, VP of external communication at Loblaw Companies Ltd., said in a statement.

“We have issued a notification to our stores and will be able to accept any returns with a receipt for a full refund.”

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Home Hardware issued a similar response when contacted by Global News.

“When this issue was brought to our attention, we moved swiftly to remove product from inventory and alert our Dealer-Owners across Canada,” Jessica Kuepfer of Home Hardware said.

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The company that manufactures TrapStik, Sterling International, Inc. based out of Spokane, Wash., describes the product online as an eco-friendly option to dispose of wasps.

“Wasps are lured to the sticky surface; once stuck, they expire on their own,” the website said.

The product’s instruction advises consumers to place the traps under man-made structures such as eavestroughs near the sides of homes and not near trees or gardens.

A statement issued by the company said birds getting caught in the traps do happen but are “extremely rare.”

“In the 5 years since this product was introduced in the U.S., we’ve sold over 1 million TrapStiks, and have been alerted to a bird catch about a dozen times,” the company said.