Sweet grapes are a popular summertime snack. But not only people like to nibble on the grapes, wasps and other animals also like to eat the delicious berries. Here you can find out how you can protect your grapes from wasps and the like.
In autumn, many gardeners look forward to the sweet, delicious grapes (Vitis vinifera) that are now beginning to ripen. It takes up to 120 days for the delicious grapes to develop their sweet taste and typical aroma. It is all the more disappointing when you realize that someone has already nibbled on the sweet grapes: wasps also love the taste of grapes and like to eat big holes in them. But many bird species also see the grapes as a welcome source of food. Here you can find out how to keep wasps away from grapes and what you should consider when protecting the grapes.
Why do wasps eat grapes?
Many gardeners are amazed when they see wasps eating their grapes. It is a common misconception that wasps feed mainly on animal food, such as other insects, or already damaged fruit. In fact, the menu of wasps is very diverse. Although larvae mainly eat animal proteins, adult wasps also feed largely on nectar, pollen and plant juices. The following often applies: the sweeter, the better. For this reason, grapes are very popular with wasps - the sweet scent and high sugar content are very tempting to the wasps. Especially when fully ripe, when the grapes contain large amounts of sugar, they provide an excellent food source for wasps. During ripening, the thin skin of the grapes is not an obstacle: the wasps can easily penetrate them with their mouthparts.
What damage do they do to grapes?
With their sharp mouthparts, the wasps eat holes in the individual fruits or can even hollow them out completely. In warm summers or when there is a large population of waspsThis can have devastating consequences, because the wasps can spoil a large part of the harvest. Not only the damage caused by feeding is a nuisance for gardeners - the injuries also make the grapes more susceptible to diseases. Rot fungi and acetic acid bacteria can attack the grapes and damage them severely. In addition, grapes that are damaged and infested with fungi and bacteria are not suitable for consumption. Unfortunately, even grapes that have not been eaten directly belong in the waste: the juice flowing down from higher grapes can also quickly make them victims of fungal diseases.
How to keep wasps away from pigeons
If you want a good grape harvest and are concerned about wasps damaging the grapes, there are simple preventive measures you can take to keep them away. Since wasps prefer grapes that are fully ripe, it is sufficient to start protective measures a few weeks before harvest. But be careful: If the insects have already discovered the grapes as a food source, it is often difficult to drive the wasps away from the grapes. If you want to protect your grapes from wasps, you should react as quickly as possible before damage occurs.
Grape protective bag against wasp damage
The best-known and also the safest way to protect grapes from insects is to use a protective bag for grapes. Winegrowers have been using this type of grape protection for a long time, but hobby gardeners can also benefit from it. To protect the grapes, they are fitted with so-called protective grape bags a few weeks before the expected time of harvest. These thin organza bags are placed individually over the grapes and then knotted. However, berries that are already damaged should be removed from the bunch beforehand to prevent the spread of rot and disease to the he althy berries.
Although bagging the grapes to protect them from wasps involves a lot of work, this method has one major advantage: since the wasps cannot eat through the organza fabric, the grapes are reliably protected. The airy fabric also allows the grapes to get enough air and sun so that they can grow undisturbed.
If you don't have organza bags to hand, you can also use paper bags. However, these should be checked regularly, as the paperis more weather-prone. Plastic bags, on the other hand, are unsuitable for protecting the grapes - due to the lack of air exchange, condensation quickly forms in them, which promotes spoilage of the grapes and the development of rot.
Water for the wasps
One tip that's often suggested for repelling wasps is spreading water around. In fact, a fine spray, for example from a water bottle or a lawn sprinkler, ensures that the wasps suspect rain and retreat. In practice, however, protecting grapes with water has not proven itself: In order to keep the wasps safely away, the water sprinkler has to run all day, otherwise the wasps will immediately go back to the grapes. This not only results in enormous water consumption, but is also impractical in other respects - the combination of large amounts of water and an unfavorable soil condition (e.g. due to a high clay content or compaction of the soil) can lead to waterlogging. This can also damage the vine. In addition, the increased humidity due to the water mist increases the risk of fungal diseases on the vine.
Essential oils against wasps
Essential oils are often cited as an insider tip when it comes to keeping wasps away. What works reliably on terraces and balconies can only be used to a limited extent to protect grapes from wasps. Although wasps avoid the smell of certain oils (e.g. lavender), for this protection to be effective, it must clearly mask the smell of the grapes.
In addition, application in the garden is rather difficult: when spraying the grapevines with a mixture of essential oils and water, care must be taken to ensure that the essential oils are dosed correctly. Too low a dose, these have no effect, too high a dose can damage the essential oil of the grapevine. In addition, the treatment must be repeated regularly (especially when it rains) so that the smell is maintained. While scented candles or electric diffusers can diffuse the essential oils over a large space, they are not suitable for use in the garden without supervision.
Foundry rock flour to protect grapes
If you want to get rid of wasps on your grapes, you might want to consider using insecticides. Instead of spraying them and thus damaging valuable beneficial organisms, you can also use rock powder. Powdering the vines hitsEffectively repel wasps. The easiest way to spread the rock powder is to put it in an old stocking and shake it over the grapes. Alternatively, you can mix the stone powder with water and spray it on the grapes.
The layer of stone powder on the grapes drives away wasps in several ways: On the one hand, they avoid the unpleasant, rubble-like surface, on the other hand, the taste of the Rock flour sweetens the grapes and makes them less attractive to wasps.
Depending on the weather (especially heavy rain or wind), it may be necessary to pollinate the grapes several times. However, you should be careful not to cover too many leaves with the primary rock flour: if there is too much flour on the leaves, this can affect photosynthesis. When the harvest time has come, the grapes should be washed thoroughly to remove the primary rock flour. Afterwards you can enjoy them without hesitation.
Protect grapes from birds
Not only wasps eat grapes - birds also like the sweet berries. Starlings and blackbirds in particular show great talent in stealing the juicy grapes directly from the vine. But other bird species also like to use the grapevine as a food source. Once the birds have discovered the vines, they often fly over them so often that there is hardly anything left for the gardener. Luckily, there are a few methods you can use to protect grapes from birds.
Protective nets against birds
The classic way to protect grapes from birds is the so-called bird protection net. The dense nets mean that birds can no longer get to the grapes and are thus effectively prevented from stealing the grapes. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to bird protection nets: the green, fine-meshed nets that are available in many garden centers often turn out to be death traps. Because the animals see them only badly and can get tangled up in them. Instead, conspicuous nets, for example in blue, are much better suited, as they are also easily recognized by birds.
Gardeners also often choose large-meshed nets, believing that they are particularly bird-friendly. Unfortunately, this is a misconception: small bird species can get caught in the large meshes with parts of their bodies and thus become entangled or injured. When buying a protective net, you should therefore pay attention to a maximum mesh size of 25 x 25 mm.
When attaching, make sure that the net closes tightly to the vines at all points and that there are no gaps through which birds can get lost under the net. If the bird protection net forms such a gap, you can fix the net to the vine with clothespins at this point. In addition, the net should not lie on the ground, as hedgehogs, toads or lizards can also get caught in it.
In the case of vines, it is actually often not necessary to net the entire vine. If the grapes hang at about the same height, it is sufficient if the grape zone is only netted on the side. However, it is also important to ensure that there are no gaps in the attachment, so that no bird can get lost inside the protective net. Daily checks are also mandatory for a meticulously installed bird protection net: If an animal accidentally gets caught in it, you can hopefully help it and get it out of its predicament.
Bird Deterrent CDs
If you are looking for a gentle way to protect your grapes from birds, you can build an effective bird scarer with a little craftsmanship. The materials for this can be found in almost every household: Old CDs and a bit of string. The CDs can be attached individually or in rows on or in close proximity to the grapes, allowing them to move freely in the wind. The birds will be startled by the movement and reflection of the sun on the reflective side of the CDs and will prefer to stay away from this place in the future.
However, you should make sure to attach the CDs early - once the birds have discovered the fresh grapes, their appetite often overcomes their fear of the flashing CDs. Bad weather with a cloudy sky can also reduce the effectiveness of the CDs, since there are no reflections from the mirror surfaces. In addition, there is a habituation effect quickly, so that smarter bird species can no longer be driven away after a while. As an interim solution to keep the birds away from the grapes for a short time, the CDs are considered to be quite effective.
Scarecrows
A scarecrow in the garden can not only serve as a decorative eye-catcher, but also be very helpful in protecting grapes from birds. However, you should keep a few tricks in mind so that the scarecrow can develop its full effect: The scarecrow should look as human as possible. This hasn'tonly for decorative reasons, but also deters birds, which recognize a human body in the silhouette of the scarecrow. Movable parts and loose clothing that flaps in the wind give the scarecrow more liveliness and thus better scare away the birds. Reflective clothing and noises, such as tin cans rattling on the scarecrow, also increase effectiveness.
To minimize the habituation effect, the scarecrow should change clothes (and, if possible, its location) regularly. The clever corvids such as magpies and crows in particular will quickly recognize that the scarecrow is a dummy.
Repelling birds with noise
Nobody finds noise pleasant - this also applies to birds. If you want to protect your grapes against birds, noise is therefore an effective and at the same time harmless method. Wind chimes, bells or rattling tin cans often make too much noise for the animals and drive them away. Music or other loud sounds also reliably drive the birds away.
Unfortunately, the noise has two disadvantages: Firstly, not only the birds but also the people in the immediate vicinity are often disturbed by the noise. On the other hand, if the garden is constantly exposed to sound, it can become habituation, so that the birds suddenly reappear despite the noise. You should therefore always vary the duration, type and time of the noises.
The use of ultrasonic devices is therefore more pleasant. These produce sounds that humans do not perceive, but which birds find unpleasant. Devices that have a motion detector also minimize the habituation effect because they do not emit continuous sounds.
Other food sources provide
When birds are hungry, they attack our beds. A bird-friendly method of protecting grapes from birds is therefore to offer them other food sources. A bird feeder that is as far away as possible from your grapes attracts the birds to another area of the garden.
It is now important to choose the right bird feed: Grains and seeds, as you know them from classic bird feed, are used Distraction rather unsuitable. In fact, it is soft food eaters such as blackbirds and starlings that particularly like to feed on grapes. On their menu are mainly insects andberries, but also fruit. If you offer them leftover fruit, collected grubs, worms or even a few old grapes, the birds are quickly persuaded to get their food from the bird feeder instead. Be sure to continue feeding until the harvest is complete - this is the only way to prevent the birds from pouncing on the vines again if they are not fed.
Would you like to learn more about how to properly feed birds? In our special article, you will not only find out how to make bird seed yourself, but also everything you need to know about the different feeding types and how to choose the right food.