How to protect grapes from wasps during their ripening: how to deal with them and what to do

Vine growers are wary of wasps. Often these insects attack grown plants and destroy the set berries. To protect the bushes from pests, you need to figure out how to protect the grapes from wasps.

What harm do wasps do to grapes?

Before you start protecting the grown grape bushes, you should clarify exactly how the wasps harm this plant. Insects attack bushes during fruit ripening. They fly on ripe berries and eat their pulp, after which the skin remains on the brushes.Over time, damaged berries begin to deteriorate and rot. The rot gradually spreads to neighboring clusters, causing most of the crop to deteriorate.

Insects do not attack all varieties of plants. They choose varieties of grapes in which the berries are covered with a thin skin. They will not be able to penetrate the surface of fruits with a thick skin. In this case, they slightly gnaw the surface of the skin, after which they look for other ripe fruits.

If you do not protect grape seedlings from wasps in a timely manner, you can lose 60% of the crop.

Most of all, people who sell fruit suffer from such pests. Damaged bunches of grapes are difficult to sell, as they have lost their presentation and are poorly stored.

Ways to deal with wasps

To save ripe grape berries, you need to figure out how to save them and how to protect them from insect attacks. There are different methods for eliminating wasps, which are best familiarized with.

Experienced winegrowers advise using active methods in the fight against insects, as they are considered effective. When using this method, gardeners will have to destroy wasp nests on their own. You should figure out in advance how to get rid of each nest with your own hands. When performing such a procedure, you must adhere to all safety rules so as not to harm yourself.

There are a few tips to follow when dealing with wasps in the vineyard:

Events to destroy nests are carried out only at night, when insects are less active;
the procedure is carried out in a special beekeeper's protective suit.

There are three ways to get rid of a hornet's nest:

Set on fire. Often the nests are located near the walls of wooden buildings and therefore, before burning them, you should familiarize yourself with the fire safety rules.
Drown. To carry out such a procedure, you will need to fill a bucket of water and press it against the nest so that it is immersed in liquid.
Spray. There are several aerosol insecticides available. Most of them are ineffective, and therefore the nests will have to be processed 4-5 times.

Chemicals

Sometimes it is not possible to get rid of wasps without chemical treatment and therefore it is necessary to spray the bushes with special preparations. Before using pesticides, you need to figure out how and what the grapes are processed with.

Insecticides

When processing grapes, insecticidal preparations are used that have no smell. If such means are used, the wasps will die immediately after attacking the bushes. Before using insecticides, you should understand the nuances of preparing a working solution.To create it, you will have to add about 50-80 grams of the drug to ten liters of water, after which you can spray the seedlings.

The protective effect of a single treatment lasts more than 30 days, and therefore, re-spraying with an insecticide solution is carried out after a month.

Boric acid

Boric acid is considered a reliable folk remedy for removing wasps from vineyards. Such a solution is distinguished by an intestinal effect, due to which the pests die immediately after the agent enters their stomach. Under the influence of boric acid, muscles are paralyzed in wasps, which leads to their death.

When creating a spray, 25 grams of acid is added to two liters of water. The liquid is thoroughly stirred for about five minutes to dissolve the crystals.

Mechanical destruction

Some vine growers refuse to use chemicals and prefer the mechanical method of protecting plants from wasps.

Traps

You can protect grapes from pests with the help of several effective traps made from plastic bottles. Using this method, you can get rid of several hundred individuals per day. When making a trap, a neck is cut out for each bottle. Then the container is fixed on the bushes with adhesive tape. When all the traps are hung, baits are placed in them. To do this, use beer, lemonade, liquid jam or syrup.

Grids

Cluster nets don't kill wasps, they only protect crops from them. This method is perfect for growers who grow only a few bushes in the garden.

To protect grape brushes from pests, they are placed in transparent nets. The main disadvantage of this method is its laboriousness, since it will take a lot of time to seal each brush.

Helpful tips from gardeners

To quickly eliminate wasps and protect grapes from them, you will have to read the recommendations of experienced growers. These include the following:

mechanical destruction of nests should only be done in early autumn or spring;
when burning nests, douse them with gasoline in advance;
if traps are used to eliminate individuals in the spring, then fish is suitable for bait, as it contains a lot of protein;
it is necessary to carry out any measures to eliminate wasps in a special suit that the wasps will not be able to pierce with their bite.

Conclusion

Vine growers who grow grape seedlings for a long time often face wasp attacks. To protect plants from them, you will have to familiarize yourself with the basic methods of pest control.