Wasps keep eating my plums! Any ideas how I can keep the buggers off them?
The plums are Victoria, the garden is about fifty foot long and about thirty
foot across. Just got the one plum tree and it's about 15foot high. Help!

In article , Frances Evans
writes
Wasps keep eating my plums! Any ideas how I can keep the buggers off them?
The plums are Victoria, the garden is about fifty foot long and about thirty
foot across. Just got the one plum tree and it's about 15foot high. Help!

One way is to pick your plums just on the point of ripening, i.e. just
before the wasps begin to eat them. They will continue ripening indoors.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 12:14:51 -0000, "Frances Evans"
wrote:

Wasps keep eating my plums! Any ideas how I can keep the buggers off them?
The plums are Victoria, the garden is about fifty foot long and about thirty
foot across. Just got the one plum tree and it's about 15foot high. Help!


Realistically there's very little you can do - unless you're prepared
to physically isolate your plum tree in a ( very large ) fruit cage.

Getting the plums off early is a good bet - when they're more yellow
than red...though you won't get that lush sweetness you get from a
fully tree-ripened plum.

The traditional advice is to remove any fallen or damaged fruits, on
the grounds that these will attract yet more wasps. However, it's
reasonable to suppose that if the wasps are feeding off semi-rotten or
damaged plums, they'll be leaving the intact fruits on the tree alone.

Setting traps is another traditional option - the old bottle filled
with water with a teaspoon of jam in it - but these are just another
attractant.

I find the problem varies from year to year, depending on the size of
the crop and the abundancy of wasps. Last year was pretty lousy - the
year before was so good I was giving plums away by the carrier bag
full.

I'm none too sure that the wasps aren't merely opportunistic. Plums
are pretty fragile, and are prone to splitting or weeping - and
there's a chance that birds might have a pop at them too. It could
well be that the wasps are simply moving in after the event, so to
speak.

Plant another tree...double your chances - or go for a cordon and
sling a net over it.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

In article , Frances Evans
writes
Wasps keep eating my plums! Any ideas how I can keep the buggers off them?
The plums are Victoria, the garden is about fifty foot long and about thirty
foot across. Just got the one plum tree and it's about 15foot high. Help!

You've got *plums* at this time of year? And wasps? Where are you?


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , Frances Evans
writes
Wasps keep eating my plums! Any ideas how I can keep the buggers off them?
The plums are Victoria, the garden is about fifty foot long and about thirty
foot across. Just got the one plum tree and it's about 15foot high. Help!

You've got *plums* at this time of year? And wasps? Where are you?


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , Frances Evans
writes
Wasps keep eating my plums! Any ideas how I can keep the buggers off them?
The plums are Victoria, the garden is about fifty foot long and about thirty
foot across. Just got the one plum tree and it's about 15foot high. Help!

You've got *plums* at this time of year? And wasps? Where are you?


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

I bought some yellow and red pellets that you mixed with beer ,to keep flies away from my horse. I left a small container of the stuff outside his field and it killed millions of flies and wasps. I can´t remember the name of it, but it may be worth checking out any pet/ vet type shops.
Good Luck.
Lindsey.

In article m,
lindsey wrote:

I bought some yellow and red pellets that you mixed with beer ,to keep
flies
away from my horse. I left a small container of the stuff outside
his field
and it killed millions of flies and wasps. I can´t remember
the name of it,
but it may be worth checking out any pet/ vet type
shops.
Good Luck.

Lindsey.
--
lindsey
-----------------------------------------------------------
-------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk


Did it kill bees too?

Lazarus

--
Remover the rock from the email address

Sorry I did not see one dead bee but I don´t tend to see many bees around, not much help I know. I will try and find out the name of it if you wish as I have never seen anything work so well.

Lindsey

"Stephen Howard" wrote in message
...

Plant another tree...double your chances - or go for a cordon and
sling a net over it.

You'd need a VERY small mesh to stop wasps getting in ...

Mary

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

"Stephen Howard" wrote in message
...

Plant another tree...double your chances - or go for a cordon and
sling a net over it.

You'd need a VERY small mesh to stop wasps getting in ...

Mary

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

"Frances Evans" wrote in message
...
Wasps keep eating my plums! Any ideas how I can keep the buggers off
them?
The plums are Victoria, the garden is about fifty foot long and about
thirty
foot across. Just got the one plum tree and it's about 15foot high. Help!

Wasps and Plums in the UK in February? I knew it was getting warmer but
thats ridiculous.

--
Tumbleweed

Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to
newsgroups)

"Frances Evans" wrote in message
...
Wasps keep eating my plums! Any ideas how I can keep the buggers off
them?
The plums are Victoria, the garden is about fifty foot long and about
thirty
foot across. Just got the one plum tree and it's about 15foot high. Help!

Wasps and Plums in the UK in February? I knew it was getting warmer but
thats ridiculous.

--
Tumbleweed

Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to
newsgroups)