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Janet · 10-05-2013, 12:06 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

In article ,
lid says...

On Fri, 10 May 2013 10:47:43 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2013-05-10 09:41:43 +0100, Martin said:

On Fri, 10 May 2013 08:53:25 +0100, Stephen Wolstenholme
wrote:

On Thu, 9 May 2013 21:30:29 +0100, (Larry Stoter) wrote:

We have a Concord (?) pear, which can produce very tasty, juicy fruit
and it is currently covered in blossom.

The last 3-4 years, as the fruit begins to ripen, wasps start eating the
fruit just at the base of the stem - fruit then rots and/or drops off.

Any suggestions for preventing the little black and yellow ^&%*£!! from
doing this.

Larry

Spraying the fruit with a very dilute carbolic soap mix keeps wasps
away.

Can you still buy carbolic soap? The soap that I bought thinking it
was carbolic wasn't. It used chemicals to give it the smell.

Swish a bit of Coal Tar soap around in a bucket?

The Wrights coal tar soap that I bought was only coal tar by name.
EU/H&S has killed the real thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright's_Coal_Tar_Soap
"The soap is now made in Turkey for the current owners of the brand,
Simple Health and Beauty Ltd based in Solihull in the UK and is called
Wright's Traditional Soap. As European Union directives on cosmetics
have banned the use of coal-tar in non-prescription products, the coal
tar derivatives have been removed from the formula, replacing them
with tea tree oil as main anti-bacterial ingredient. Despite this
major variance from the original recipe, the new soap has been made to
approximate the look and smell of the original product."

It says so on the wrapper.

Tar and epoxy tar antifouling for boats went the same way.

Coal tar shampoos are easily available in the UK, both OTC and
prescription.

Janet