People who grow grapes are wary of wasps. Often these insects attack cultivated plants and destroy the set berries. To protect bushes from pests, you need to figure out how to protect grapes from wasps.
How much damage do wasps cause to grapes?
Before you begin to protect the grape bushes you are growing, you should clarify exactly how wasps harm this plant. Insects attack bushes during fruit ripening.They swoop down on ripe berries and eat their pulp, after which the skin remains on the hands. Over time, damaged berries begin to deteriorate and rot. The rot gradually spreads to neighboring brushes, causing the majority of the crop to spoil.
Insects do not attack all plant varieties. They choose grape varieties whose berries are covered with thin skin. They will not be able to penetrate the surface of thick-skinned fruits. In this case, they nibble a little on the surface of the skin, after which they look for other ripe fruits.
If grape seedlings are not protected from wasps in a timely manner, you can lose 60% of the harvest.
People who sell fruit suffer the most from such pests. Damaged clusters of grapes are difficult to sell, as they have lost their marketable appearance and are poorly stored.
Ways to deal with wasps
To preserve 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 in advance.
Experienced winegrowers advise using active methods when fighting insects, as they are considered effective. When using this method, gardeners will have to destroy wasp nests themselves. You should figure out in advance how to get rid of each nest with your own hands. When performing this procedure, you must adhere to all safety rules so as not to harm yourself.
There are several recommendations that are best followed when fighting wasps in the vineyard:
- measures to destroy nests are carried out only at night, when insects are less active;
- The procedure is carried out in a special beekeeper protective suit.
There are three ways to get rid of a wasp nest:
- Set it on fire.Often nests are located near the walls of wooden buildings and therefore, before burning them, you need to familiarize yourself with fire safety rules.
- Drown. To carry out this procedure, you will need to fill a bucket with water and press it against the nest so that it is immersed in the liquid.
- Treat with aerosol. There are several insect repellent aerosol products 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 you have to spray the bushes with special preparations. Before using pest control products, you need to understand how and with what grapes are processed.
Insecticides
When processing grapes, insecticidal preparations that have no odor are used. If you use such means, the wasps will die immediately after attacking the bushes. Before using insecticides, you should understand the nuances of preparing the 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 one-time treatment lasts more than 30 days, and therefore repeated spraying with an insecticide solution is carried out after a month.
Boric acid
Boric acid is considered a reliable folk remedy for eliminating wasps from vineyards. This solution has an intestinal effect, due to which the pests die immediately after the product penetrates their stomach. Under the influence of boric acid, the muscles of wasps are paralyzed, which leads to their death.
When creating a spray product, 25 grams of acid are added to two liters of water.The liquid is thoroughly stirred for about five minutes to dissolve the crystals.
Mechanical destruction
Some winegrowers refuse to use chemicals and prefer the mechanical method of protecting plants from wasps.
Traps
You can protect grapes from pests using several effective traps made from plastic bottles. Using this method, you can get rid of several hundred individuals per day. When making a trap, the neck of each bottle is cut out. Then the container is fixed on the bushes with tape. When all the traps are hung, bait is placed in them. To do this, use beer, lemonade, liquid jam or syrup.
Grids
Bunch protection nets do not kill wasps, but only protect the crop from them. This method is perfect for winegrowers 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 that it is painstaking, since you will have to spend a lot of time sealing each brush.
Useful tips from gardeners
To quickly eliminate wasps and protect grapes from them, you will have to familiarize yourself with the recommendations of experienced winegrowers. These include the following:
- Mechanical destruction of nests should only be done in early autumn or spring;
- when burning nests, you need to douse them with gasoline in advance;
- if traps are used to eliminate individuals in the spring, then fish is suitable for bait, since it contains a lot of protein;
- Any measures to eliminate wasps must be carried out in a special suit that the wasps cannot penetrate with their bite.
Conclusion
Grape growers who grow grape seedlings for a long time often encounter wasp attacks.To protect plants from them, you will have to familiarize yourself with the basic methods of pest control.
