How to protect grapes from wasps - a description of effective methods of crop protection

Juicy and fragrant bunches of grapes attract insects and birds. To collect a good harvest, the owners of the plots have to resort to various means of deterring and killing pests. Wasps are very fond of soft and sweet berries, so they are one of the main enemies of winegrowers. Striped gourmands spoil the presentation of bunches. Insects eat a little, but the harm from them is noticeable. Before ripening bunches, you have to decide how to protect the grapes from wasps. This can be done in a gentle but costly way or resort to the radical destruction of stinging insects.

Insect damage in the vineyard

Wasps are allies of gardeners and gardeners. These predators actively destroy pests throughout the season. They significantly reduce the number of butterflies, caterpillars, bugs, aphids, flies and bugs. The nest built by the uterus in a secluded place in the summer cottage reaches its maximum size by the end of summer. The number of adults is several hundred, and the larvae are becoming smaller. The need for protein food is reduced. Wasps feed on nectar and sweet fruit juice. They are especially attracted to ripe grapes.
Striped insects have strong jaws; it is not difficult for them to bite through the skin of a berry. A large family leaves one peel of grapes, and individual individuals bite a large number of berries. Damage occurs not only due to a damaged look. Damaged clusters become a breeding ground for fungi. Such grapes cannot be stored for a long time. People who grow it for sale suffer losses.

Information. Wasps prefer fermented juice. To do this, they make punctures in the berries, and leave them for two to three days. Upon returning, the insects feast on the hoppy pulp.

How to deal with wasps

All methods of struggle used are conventionally divided into two groups: active and passive. The first involves the destruction of crop pests by any available means. The second - more humane, beneficial insects remain alive, but can not reach the berries.

Mechanical methods

The first thing that a specialist will advise is to find and destroy the nest. If you eliminate the enemy before the harvest ripens, then there will be no one to attack. Finding a home is the first problem. Public wasps try to hide their home. It can be in the thick of branches, hollow, in a hole or outbuilding. If it was found, then the second problem will have to be solved - to destroy the swarm without risk to health. Everyone knows that the stings of stinging insects are very painful, but what if there are tens or hundreds of them? Be sure to take precautions.

Wasp control in the vineyard should be safe for humans. Before exterminating insects, put on tight clothing, gloves on your hands, and a mosquito net on your head. It is better to act in the evening when the wasps are less active and collected in one place. Against them, insecticides are used, special remedies for flying insects. It is recommended to use them in the form of a spray or aerosol.

According to the instructions of the drug, an aqueous solution is prepared, then sprayed onto the nest. Concentrate for dilution are substances: Lambda Zone, Get. Enough 100 ml of the drug in 2 liters of water. Aerosols are ready to use. They can be sent to a hornet’s dwelling from a distance of 5-6 m. Effective drugs are: Klays, Raid, Bros, Fumitox, Dichlorvos. Processing will have to be repeated several times, part of the insects will fly apart.

Their main advantages: speed and ease of use. If the nest is located in the ground, you can burn it or pour boiling water over it. When burning a paper structure using flammable liquids (kerosene or gasoline), fire safety must be taken into account. Next to flammable materials, it’s best to choose another way to destroy the nest.

Insect traps

Adhesive tapes are one of the varieties of traps. Shops sell paper strips coated with glue. To attract insects, they are made yellow. You can make an effective trap at home. Its basis will be a sheet of plywood, linoleum or plastic. A non-drying adhesive is applied in a thick layer on a flat surface.

Tip. For a medium trap, you will need 1 tube of glue. RaTrap recommended for trapping rodents is suitable.

On the surface of the glue, several berries or pieces of peach are laid out. Fruit will attract wasps.

Production and selection of bait

Setting traps for wasps in the vineyard is a safe way to kill insects. You can’t catch all the pests, but the number of attackers will be significantly reduced. In stores for gardeners sell designs for every taste and budget. They are reservoirs with a lid. There are holes for insects in the side walls. Bait is poured inside. In some models, it is already present in dry form, in them you will need to add water at the indicated mark.

Purchased designs zealous owners do not use. The same trap can be made absolutely free from an empty plastic bottle. The manufacturing process takes only a few minutes, and the result is not inferior to industrial products. Of the tools you need to work:

• stationery knife;
• awl.

A container with a volume of 1.5 to 5 liters is suitable. At the top of the bottle is cut off, about one third. It is inserted into the workpiece with its neck down. Through the resulting funnel, insects will climb inside. If the structure will be suspended, it is necessary to pierce the holes for the rope.

Kvass, honey solution, acidified jam with water are poured as bait. Os attracts sweet alcohol, so you can use beer with sugar. Traps are placed near all bushes and hung next to clusters. The wasps that got inside the instinctively rise along the walls, unable to find a way out. Pretty quickly they drown in liquid. Periodically, they will have to be freed from accumulated insects and refuel again.

Tip. To smell the bait spread more intensely, several holes of small diameter are made in the bottle.

For those who do not live permanently on the site and are not able to regularly clean traps, this method will not work. How in this case to protect grapes from wasps? It will take a little improvement. A cropped 5 liter bottle or other wide tank without a cap is needed. A sweet bait is poured into it, mixed with an insecticidal preparation.

An odorless tool is selected, otherwise it will scare away the wasps. Such substances are recommended - Delta Zone, Aktara, Regent. They have a contact-intestinal effect. An excellent option would be the use of chlorophos in a proportion of 10: 1. The pesticide has an active intestinal effect. Adults die from the ingestion of toxins into the body with food, and the larvae become infected by contact. To insects got out of the trap, sticks are placed in it. Wasps are guaranteed to die, and the design does not require cleaning.The more such tanks on the site, the less threat to the crop. The disadvantage of this option is the quick drying of the liquid in the heat and a decrease in the concentration of poison after rain.

Tip. For those who do not want to bother with making traps, there is a simple and effective way. Under the vines spreads polyethylene, on which pieces of apples or pears, berries or watermelon peels are laid out. All this is sprinkled with an insecticide. Insects will eat poisoned fruit and die. Pieces of meat or fish are often used as bait for wasps on grapes. This avoids being trapped in honey bees that are not attracted to protein foods. The trap is made of a plastic bottle, but instead of sweet syrup, meat is put inside.

Boric acid is a cheap and effective remedy for wasps on grapes. It meets all the requirements for baits:

• no pungent odor;
• highly toxic to insects;
• safe for humans.

The tool is sold in pharmacies. It is a powder that is dissolved in beer or syrup used as a bait. The main advantages of insect traps are their effectiveness and safety. When placing containers with bait, a person does not run the risk of being bitten. But when emptying, caution should be exercised. Some insects may be alive.

Chemicals

Insecticides effectively kill any insects. But for grapes this is an undesirable option. Between spraying and harvesting, there is little time left for the decomposition of the active substance. Berries will have to be washed well before eating. In large areas where mechanical methods cannot be applied, owners use chemistry. How can grapes from wasps be processed? Spraying is performed with an aqueous solution of chlorophos.

Folk recipes

Folk remedies for wasps on grapes cannot compete in effectiveness with traps. But their action does not harm insects. Natural recipes are aimed at scaring off striped predators with unpleasant aromas for them. It can be lemon cloves with cloves, wormwood, geranium, mint or lemon balm.

Passive protection

If you act reasonably and carefully, you will be able to save the crop and beneficial insects from extermination. The use of a grid covering the brushes refers to measures of passive protection. This is a simple and environmentally friendly way to save crops. Polymer bags from wasps for grapes are made of mesh with a mesh of 1 mm. They are put on clusters and fixed on a twig. Spacious drawstring bags will prevent the attacks of birds and various insects. The method has several advantages:

• The mesh structure provides air circulation.
• One bag can be used for several seasons.
• Polymer nets are affordable.
• The use of bags reduces the risk of cluster damage in high winds.
• If two clusters are located nearby, you can wrap one bag.
• The material is resistant to moisture and ultraviolet radiation.

The grid for grapes from wasps and birds comes in various colors and sizes. The minimum dimensions of the product 22 × 30 mm are designed for 2 kg of brush. The maximum format - 30 × 55 mm is offered for 10 kg of bunches. The disadvantages of this effective method are the difficulty of applying to large areas and material costs.

One of the ways to repel wasps from the vineyard is the use of smoke. Natural smoke from a fire has a limited duration. To fight wasps away from berries, they use a special substance - liquid smoke, intended for smoking products. It is poured into the soil next to the vine. The effectiveness of the method causes controversy, and an unpleasant aroma may remain on the grapes.

An integrated approach is needed to protect grapes from wasps. Do not waste time, you need to start the struggle for the crop in the spring, acting ahead of the curve.