Juicy and sweet grapes like not only people. They do not mind eating wasps. They gnaw through the skin of the fetus without much difficulty, reaching the delicate pulp. And although they are not able to eat the whole crop, the berries that they “tried” rot, they as a result, the whole brush is affected by bacteria and fungus. Damage, thus, increases at times. So how to protect grapes from wasps?
The first thought that comes to mind is to use insecticides. But spraying with chemistry already matured brushes is unreasonable. And the sense of such events is almost minimal. Specially prepared traps are much more effective.
Such a struggle with wasps on grapes has its own characteristics. First of all, traps differ in the principle of action. In the first case, a poison bait is prepared. For these purposes, ripe fruit (no matter which ones) will fit. The sweet fragrant pulp is ground and mixed with any effective insecticide. After that, a kind of “lunch” is offered to insects. You need to place containers with bait around the perimeter of the vineyard. Insects, having tasted the generously offered goodies, will die. The only “but” of this method is that birds or your pets can peck at the poison. Therefore, be extremely vigilant.
If you are thinking about how to protect grapes from wasps in less risky ways, then put in traps from plastic bottles. You can also search for manufactured structures in an industrial way, but they are rarely found on sale, and it makes no sense to spend money on them. It’s easier to put in the usual plastic one and a half. We cut the bottle off the shoulders, then turn the neck over and place it on the base of the container. To prevent the two parts from falling apart, wrap them with tape. We make a loop from the rope, pour sugar syrup or jam diluted with water inside the prepared trap. Done. We hang several traps along the trellis and periodically check. Dispose of the vessels filled with suffocated insects, and put a new bottle in their place.
How to save grapes from wasps in the case when their population on the site does not decrease even after the use of poisonous baits and traps? Then it is necessary to conduct a thorough examination of the territory for the detection of an
aspen nest. Just be careful. Insects are unlikely to be happy with your presence. Therefore, it is better to destroy the nest in the late evening or in the very early morning. Carefully cover the nest with a bag, separate it from the surface to which it is attached, and burn it. You can pre-treat it with dichlorvos or fumigate with smoke.
There is a very simple way how to protect grapes from wasps accidentally flying into your plot. True, it is suitable for small plantations. A spacious tulle bag is sewn for each ripening bunch. You put it on your brush and grab it with a tie over it. It is clear that getting around and closing every bunch of berries on a large plot is quite difficult. But in modest vineyards, this method has proven itself well.
There are more exotic recipes for protecting grapes from wasps. For example, some recommend spraying brushes with onion infusion or garlic broth (supposedly their bad smell repels insects). But you, most likely, also will not like a berry with a pungent odor. Therefore, let us leave such original methods to desperate experimenters, and we will use proven and effective means ourselves.