How to deal with wasps in fallen fruit around pear tree?
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So we have a pear tree in our back yard that decided this was the year it was going to successfully bear fruit.
Its been extremely dry and we've been away a lot so I haven't cut the grass in about 8 weeks. I didn't even notice the tree had ripe fruit on it until yesterday. Stoked to check it out I walked over to pick some and noticed there's about ten full grown pears rotting on the ground below the tree that are just absolutely infested with wasps.
The tree is near our fence with the neighbors so I gotta deal with this fast so they don't get overwhelmed by wasps.
Does anyone know of a safe way to approach this? I broke my ribs and fucked up my back on a dirt bike last weekend so I can't exactly do anything that requires quick reactions or running away.
Any ideas would be super helpful
[EDIT] The solution was to wait until nightfall for them to return to their nest. I was able to pick up all the fruit and dispose of it with ease with maybe 5 wasps hanging around, seemingly in a stupor due to low light and cold air, instead of what looked like a few hundred during the day.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Buy some wasp freeze online. Wasp Freeze II, or something containing geraniol, line Proverde. It will kill them on contact. Wasp freeze is extremely effective. I manage a pest control company and this is what we use. Proverde is all natural and safe for animals and such.
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Thanks for your feedback. I'm in Canada and as far as I know there are no laws or rules about this, but I don't want my neighbors to be harassed by wasps, nor am I happy with how many of them harass me on my deck at the moment. I'm not looking to exterminate them, rather safely pick up the fruit and chuck it into a field next to my house so that they're further away from us.
I just don't want to risk being attacked by them if I try to move the fruit, y'know? I can't safely run or even shoo them away right now due to the pain of my injuries.
They don't want to sting you.
Pick the fruit up in the earlyish morning when it's cool. Do it carefully so you're not squashing any wasps that are about and you should be fine.
Move slowly and don't 'flap'.
Unless you have health problems a couple of stings are painful, but not that bad.
Not long ago I had a Queen wasp fall into my T-shirt resulting in five stings on my back. I dosed up on antihistamines and was OK in an hour or so. - yes, the wasp was captured and safely released.
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I had issues with fall wasps trying to nest on our balcony. I bought mint extract and sprayed it everywhere. The do not like the smell of mint. A lot less after that.
Smells nice too and is not a toxic chemical.
I've tried the mint extract approach before, but it has never helped keep wasps away from our house. I wonder if efficacy varies based on the specific kind of wasps.
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They don't want to sting you.
Pick the fruit up in the earlyish morning when it's cool. Do it carefully so you're not squashing any wasps that are about and you should be fine.
Move slowly and don't 'flap'.
Unless you have health problems a couple of stings are painful, but not that bad.
Not long ago I had a Queen wasp fall into my T-shirt resulting in five stings on my back. I dosed up on antihistamines and was OK in an hour or so. - yes, the wasp was captured and safely released.
They don’t want to sting you.
Maybe they don't "want" to sting anyone, but wasps can be very territorial and aggressive. Every time I've ever been stung by a wasp, I was minding my own business and just happened to piss one off by existing nearby.
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I've tried the mint extract approach before, but it has never helped keep wasps away from our house. I wonder if efficacy varies based on the specific kind of wasps.
Not sure. In Ontario. Read Rosemary also keeps them away.
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Thanks for your feedback. I'm in Canada and as far as I know there are no laws or rules about this, but I don't want my neighbors to be harassed by wasps, nor am I happy with how many of them harass me on my deck at the moment. I'm not looking to exterminate them, rather safely pick up the fruit and chuck it into a field next to my house so that they're further away from us.
I just don't want to risk being attacked by them if I try to move the fruit, y'know? I can't safely run or even shoo them away right now due to the pain of my injuries.
Use a tool with a long handle, like a shovel or one of those grabber things, to pick up the wasp-y pears and throw them in the desired direction. Wear protective clothing (long pants, long sleeves, gloves, hat, bandanna wrapped around your face, IDK) if you're overly paranoid about stings.
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So we have a pear tree in our back yard that decided this was the year it was going to successfully bear fruit.
Its been extremely dry and we've been away a lot so I haven't cut the grass in about 8 weeks. I didn't even notice the tree had ripe fruit on it until yesterday. Stoked to check it out I walked over to pick some and noticed there's about ten full grown pears rotting on the ground below the tree that are just absolutely infested with wasps.
The tree is near our fence with the neighbors so I gotta deal with this fast so they don't get overwhelmed by wasps.
Does anyone know of a safe way to approach this? I broke my ribs and fucked up my back on a dirt bike last weekend so I can't exactly do anything that requires quick reactions or running away.
Any ideas would be super helpful
[EDIT] The solution was to wait until nightfall for them to return to their nest. I was able to pick up all the fruit and dispose of it with ease with maybe 5 wasps hanging around, seemingly in a stupor due to low light and cold air, instead of what looked like a few hundred during the day.
Get a can of wasp/hornet killer with a long-range spray and spray it directly on the fallen fruits where the wasps are because fuck wasps. They aren't bees, they're not worth saving. Kill them all and let God sort them out.
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They don’t want to sting you.
Maybe they don't "want" to sting anyone, but wasps can be very territorial and aggressive. Every time I've ever been stung by a wasp, I was minding my own business and just happened to piss one off by existing nearby.
I was going to say I have picked up wasp-swarmed fruit (pears, apples, plums) for 25 years and have only been stung by a wasp once – when I stepped on it barefoot. But I realised wasps are probably not the same wasps everywhere and I live on another continent than OP and maybe you.
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Get a can of wasp/hornet killer with a long-range spray and spray it directly on the fallen fruits where the wasps are because fuck wasps. They aren't bees, they're not worth saving. Kill them all and let God sort them out.
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So we have a pear tree in our back yard that decided this was the year it was going to successfully bear fruit.
Its been extremely dry and we've been away a lot so I haven't cut the grass in about 8 weeks. I didn't even notice the tree had ripe fruit on it until yesterday. Stoked to check it out I walked over to pick some and noticed there's about ten full grown pears rotting on the ground below the tree that are just absolutely infested with wasps.
The tree is near our fence with the neighbors so I gotta deal with this fast so they don't get overwhelmed by wasps.
Does anyone know of a safe way to approach this? I broke my ribs and fucked up my back on a dirt bike last weekend so I can't exactly do anything that requires quick reactions or running away.
Any ideas would be super helpful
[EDIT] The solution was to wait until nightfall for them to return to their nest. I was able to pick up all the fruit and dispose of it with ease with maybe 5 wasps hanging around, seemingly in a stupor due to low light and cold air, instead of what looked like a few hundred during the day.
Get a bucket, some gloves and just take some time to pick the fruits up?
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You could use something more enticing to attract them to another location.
Unrelated wasps seem to prefer prosciutto over any other item on a spread filled with meats and cheeses.
I would say leave the fruit where it is for now, pickup and throw out anything they are not currently devouring, and then leave something sweet or salty in another area somewhere.
Unrelated wasps seem to prefer prosciutto over any other item on a spread filled with meats and cheeses.
But so do I, this is terrible news! The prosciutto is the only part I don't want to throw out!
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Buy some wasp freeze online. Wasp Freeze II, or something containing geraniol, line Proverde. It will kill them on contact. Wasp freeze is extremely effective. I manage a pest control company and this is what we use. Proverde is all natural and safe for animals and such.
"safe for animals" and "will kill them on contact" can't both be true.
Do you manage any pest controlling ways that move instead of kill our pollinators?
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"safe for animals" and "will kill them on contact" can't both be true.
Do you manage any pest controlling ways that move instead of kill our pollinators?
In California wasps/hornets aren't protected and considered accidental pollinators but bees are protected. There are plenty of resources from the state to have them removed but can take awhile. We also keep several bee keepers numbers on hand for that situation, but again takes time. Many people are deathly allergic to wasp stings and need immediate acting options that keep them safe. That's what these are. Pest control isn't always about killing things, but there are situations where these things are required. It's not my company, it's just my job.
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Sounds like a non-problem to me. Go inside, wait a month, they'll be gone
September is, like, the nicest month weatherwise. There's gotta be a meeting place for OP and the wasps somewhere in the middle.
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In California wasps/hornets aren't protected and considered accidental pollinators but bees are protected. There are plenty of resources from the state to have them removed but can take awhile. We also keep several bee keepers numbers on hand for that situation, but again takes time. Many people are deathly allergic to wasp stings and need immediate acting options that keep them safe. That's what these are. Pest control isn't always about killing things, but there are situations where these things are required. It's not my company, it's just my job.
Wasps and hornets are pest control. Leave them alone.
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Wasps and hornets are pest control. Leave them alone.
Ok I'll leave them alone.
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So we have a pear tree in our back yard that decided this was the year it was going to successfully bear fruit.
Its been extremely dry and we've been away a lot so I haven't cut the grass in about 8 weeks. I didn't even notice the tree had ripe fruit on it until yesterday. Stoked to check it out I walked over to pick some and noticed there's about ten full grown pears rotting on the ground below the tree that are just absolutely infested with wasps.
The tree is near our fence with the neighbors so I gotta deal with this fast so they don't get overwhelmed by wasps.
Does anyone know of a safe way to approach this? I broke my ribs and fucked up my back on a dirt bike last weekend so I can't exactly do anything that requires quick reactions or running away.
Any ideas would be super helpful
[EDIT] The solution was to wait until nightfall for them to return to their nest. I was able to pick up all the fruit and dispose of it with ease with maybe 5 wasps hanging around, seemingly in a stupor due to low light and cold air, instead of what looked like a few hundred during the day.
Clean up the fruit at night.
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They don’t want to sting you.
Maybe they don't "want" to sting anyone, but wasps can be very territorial and aggressive. Every time I've ever been stung by a wasp, I was minding my own business and just happened to piss one off by existing nearby.
wrote last edited by [email protected]How they behave out and about, vs when they are defending their nest are entirely different. If you were stung while “minding your own business” it’s more likely it was for existing too close to their home.
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So we have a pear tree in our back yard that decided this was the year it was going to successfully bear fruit.
Its been extremely dry and we've been away a lot so I haven't cut the grass in about 8 weeks. I didn't even notice the tree had ripe fruit on it until yesterday. Stoked to check it out I walked over to pick some and noticed there's about ten full grown pears rotting on the ground below the tree that are just absolutely infested with wasps.
The tree is near our fence with the neighbors so I gotta deal with this fast so they don't get overwhelmed by wasps.
Does anyone know of a safe way to approach this? I broke my ribs and fucked up my back on a dirt bike last weekend so I can't exactly do anything that requires quick reactions or running away.
Any ideas would be super helpful
[EDIT] The solution was to wait until nightfall for them to return to their nest. I was able to pick up all the fruit and dispose of it with ease with maybe 5 wasps hanging around, seemingly in a stupor due to low light and cold air, instead of what looked like a few hundred during the day.
sarin*
*obviously a joke
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So we have a pear tree in our back yard that decided this was the year it was going to successfully bear fruit.
Its been extremely dry and we've been away a lot so I haven't cut the grass in about 8 weeks. I didn't even notice the tree had ripe fruit on it until yesterday. Stoked to check it out I walked over to pick some and noticed there's about ten full grown pears rotting on the ground below the tree that are just absolutely infested with wasps.
The tree is near our fence with the neighbors so I gotta deal with this fast so they don't get overwhelmed by wasps.
Does anyone know of a safe way to approach this? I broke my ribs and fucked up my back on a dirt bike last weekend so I can't exactly do anything that requires quick reactions or running away.
Any ideas would be super helpful
[EDIT] The solution was to wait until nightfall for them to return to their nest. I was able to pick up all the fruit and dispose of it with ease with maybe 5 wasps hanging around, seemingly in a stupor due to low light and cold air, instead of what looked like a few hundred during the day.
Eat the spicy fruit. Show them you're not to be trifled with.
