Drunk wasps all over my fallen apples - advice needed!
green fingered finch
Posts: 278
We have 2 apple trees, one eating and one cooking apple. The fallen eating apples are all over the garden path and are understandably attracting LOTS of wasps. (They're not interested in the cookers at all!) I've been trying to pick up the fallen apples but often they contain loads of wasps inside where they've been eating the inside out (I counted 16 crawling out of one small apple..*shudder*).I know it's only a matter of time before I get stung. The wasps are pretty intoxicated from the fermenting fruit and I have a feeling they're not happy drunks!
Have others had this problem? What's the best thing to do... Just keep removing the fallen apples into my green bag and hope nobody gets stung? Move the fallen apples elsewhere in the garden to let them carry on their drunken merriment? Use a wasp catcher (or will this make them worse?)
Any sage advice greatly appreciated.
Posts
My fallen apples have competition for the ferment from a flock of starlings. They are quite incapable of flying away they get so drunk. I expect they are partial to insects too so i just leave it to the wildlife to tidy up for me!
If you want to reduce the problem get rid of windfalls the minute you see them. The wasps won't last forever, but they'll very aggressive.
If you wait until nightfall they will be more dopey.
Starlings aww how sweet
The apples seem to fall in the middle of the night Alina! I'm trying my best though
Put them onto the compost heap if you don't want to eat them all.
I don't really know the habits of wasps, but do they go back to their nest before it gets dark in the evening? Can you pick up the apples in the evening? Reading the posts I see Alina W has made the same suggestion.
In my experience the wasps will not finally go until the first frost.