Grapes + Wasps = Bad News

[littlemark]

This years wine vintage is looking highly unlikely due to Wasp damage to the grapes. We haven't had many Wasps this last few years but this year it's Wasp City round here. Does anyone know of an innovative method for keeping Wasps off grapes. Short of wrapping all three vines with horticultural fleece, making sure there are absolutely no gaps (virtually impossible I think), I can't think what to do.

Cheers, Mark

ps. this isn't really in the right place is it! Perhaps admin could move it to the fruit section...

[OllieMartin]

Or Weeds, Pests and Disease... section.

I didn't know wasps would cause damage to plants, I always thought of them like bees. I guess they're just evil bees.

[Hilary B]

My guess is that the dry-then-wet weather we've had this summer has caused your grapes to split (a significant number of them anyway) and that is what has attracted the wasps to them.
Lots of things are splitting this year!

[littlemark]

The Wasps nest has been discovered in a vole hole in the orchard. It's days are numbered...

[Madmac]

Fake wasp nests are good, my friend has one around the BBQ seating area and we never saw a wasp in 2 weeks while eating al-fressco nearly every meal (scuze spelling)

[rustylady]

There do seem to be a heck of a lot of wasps about this year. Not too bad at home, but we went to the local wildlife park on Wednesday and they were everywhere. They had wasp traps up but the little b*********** were still everywhere.

[Glutton4...]

My Dad has a large Grapevine in his greenhouse - it's bursting at the seams with Grapes, and the blimmin Wasps have invaded the place There are small dopey ones everywhere, all over my Tommies and Cucs, so I send my DH in to collect the fruit, coz I'm a wuss!

I guess there's a nest in there, but I'm not going in to look!

[Stacey Steve]

They have been causing havoc on my apple trees. I went to test an apple a few days ago, cupped it in my hand, lifted, twisted and it came away but then I felt tickling in my palm and dropped it. There must have been about 20 wasps in it and the inside was almost completely hollow.

I have left a couple of wind fall wasp damaged fruits on the ground below the trees and they seemed to be concentrating on these and hardly any in the tres themselves. So I have cut in half a few bruised aplles and left them below the trees and again they seem to be happy with these instead of the ones on the trees.

[littlemark]

I'm really not over keen on destroying the nest in our orchard, Wasps do have some redeeming features with regard to pest control, but we'll be cidermaking soon and I can see this being a real problem.

They seem to have found something better to munch though, the grape vines are Wasp-free at the moment. Probably the plums falling from our neighbours tree, plus our James Grieve apples which are also falling faster than I can pick them.

Mark