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westy1941

Bees, Wasps - Preventing Harvest

Carole Westgaard
10 years ago

There must be a thousand around my 15 tomato plants. I've never seen this before but this is my first year in Colorado - didn't happen in Illinois. Allergic to the venom - how do I deal with this other than head to foot armour? Is this unusual wasp behavior (not sure if they're bees or wasps or what)....

Westy

Comments (12)

  • labradors_gw
    10 years ago

    It could be that there is a ground wasp nest nearby. Maybe you could get someone who is not allergic to them to check them out, then perhaps you could get someone to deal with them in the evening when they are sleepy.

    Linda

  • HotHabaneroLady
    10 years ago

    It sounds like maybe a nest is nearby. You can get spray cans to kill off a nest from Lowes or Home Depot. But use them at night when the wasps are all in their nests and they are inactive sleeping.

  • carolyn137
    10 years ago

    And if you know you have an allergic response to either bees or wasps I sure hope you carry an epi pen ( adrenalin) when outside.

    A good friend of mine was at my place, stepped on a groundnest of hornets,nothing happened and all was well,

    Later that summer he was mowing his own lawn and where the popup sprinkers were there was a goundnest in one of them. He went into anaphylatic shock and when his wife came home she drove him ASAP for help, and he survived.

    One has to have what's called a sensitizing dose of venom to start with,only then are antibodies made and then subsequent stings can often lead to death.

    Unless one carries an Epi Pen wherever she/he goes.

    I lived and worked in Denver fo rmany years and never saw what you described on my tomatoes, but I wanted to ask if you had many rotten tomatoes in your garden, b'c that too can draw insects as well..

    Lastly, if allergic have you considered desensitization once it's established exactly which insects you're allergic to?

    Hope that helps,

    Carolyn

  • Carole Westgaard
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hi - yes do carry the Epi Pen. Never considered there might be a wasp/bee hive nearby - renting a plot in the gated community where daughter lives and there are 20 garden plots but I haven't noticed other gardens with the problem - so if there's a hive it must be near mine. I'll be checking today. And there was only ONE tomato on the ground that had been half eaten by something so I can't believe that would attract them - there weren't even any bees on it. I've never heard of desensitization - something I'll be checking on! My reaction is (so far at the age of 71) only hives but they're huge - the size of dinner plates all over my body and has worsened as I've aged. A dear friend died a few years ago of what they determined were a couple of bee stings at once while he was mowing the lawn - venom moved through his system faster because he was so active - so I am afraid of them needless to say.

    Thanks for the help!

    Westy

  • fcivish
    10 years ago

    In the west, at least in Utah, Idaho, Colorado and Wyoming, we have a lot of wasps/hornets and they nest in semi-protected areas, under tree branches, the eaves of houses, in fences, under pipes or boards, in junk piles or whatever. Since these western states are fairly dry, the wasps don't need a lot of protection from the weather. Give them a place that isn't wet and is a bit protected from the elements, and they are happy. Probably more of a problem than in Illinois, because Illinois is wetter.

    These critters tend to become more omnipresent and more aggressive as fall approaches and they have limited time to stock their nests. Also, there will be more of them after a summer of successful reproduction.

    BUT, they do die quite nicely if you use hornet/wasp spray on them. You can spray them at night, or spray them during the day. Individual wasps that are sprayed die quickly, though it may take multiple applications of the spray on the nests. DO try to find their nests and spray the nesting area directly, whenever possible

    If you can't find the nests, then a lot of Garden Centers will sell a Hornet or Wasp trap, which often consists of a special top that you put over a bottle, with a bit of bait inside. They can work pretty well to decrease the numbers, but won't eliminate them.

  • Carole Westgaard
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I checked every garden plot - there are 24 that are rented to the condo owners (or their parents, like us). They ALL have wasps or whatever they are so I'm not alone. I don't want to kill bees - not sure what the difference is in terms of pollination between wasps, bees, hornets, etc. so guess I need to educate myself. Husband did the picking today and wouldn't let me into the garden. If hornets or wasps are not pollinators, i would have no problem with the sprays suggested - need to go do some reading!!!!

    Westy

  • beeman_gardener
    10 years ago

    Wasps and hornets do not polinate, they have no need of pollen.
    That's not to say that they are not useful to gardeners, as they do take caterpillars and flies, some dead meat and sugar. So using any of these for bait will trap them.
    I use a jar with two holes drilled in the lid, add anything sweet, (apple juice works well) with water in the bottom. They get in, can't get out and drown in the bottom.

  • fcivish
    10 years ago

    Bees generally provide very little pollination of vegetables in the garden. They are much more important for Fruit Trees, so you need to be careful with fruit trees when fruit trees are in bloom. But not necessarily careful with bees around most vegetables.

    This late in the year, the activity of any honeybees in your vegetable garden should be absolutely minimal. In addition, Tomatoes, and probably most garden vegetables, are self fertile. This means they don't need outside pollination at all. Once in a while you will see honeybees working on things like Squash or Pumpkin blossoms. Or coming into the garden for water (if water is otherwise in short supply in your area), but mostly honeybees should not be common in the garden.

    If you are still concerned about possibly hurting honeybees, then look up pictures of honeybees and compare them to pictures of wasps and hornets. Most (but not ALL) honeybees have the classical banded pattern on their abdomen, and a few wasps have a similar pattern. But other than that, I don't think they look at all similar. Honeybees are more rounded and less aggressive looking. Anyone who knows them will be able to tell you instantly whether something is a honeybee or a wasp/hornet. So, once you familiarize yourself with the difference, look to see if there are ANY honeybees visiting your garden. Quite unlikely to find honeybees in home gardens at this time of year. If there are none, then go for it. Kill the wasps. They reproduce like crazy anyway, and you will need to fight them year after year. Probably best to start early in the season, when their colonies are weak, and keep it up all summer and fall.

  • carolyn137
    10 years ago

    If you go to SESE and look at the article Dr. Jeff McCormack wrote you'll see the most common bee that does pollinate tomato blossoms in terms of X pollination are the Halictid bees, aka sweat bees. And they are very very tiny.

    Tomato blossoms have no nectar so insects working the blossoms are there for pollen as a protein source.

    Carolyn

  • fcivish
    10 years ago

    In addition, wasps/hornets can often be baited into traps with meat or similar things that bees are just absolutely not interested in. However, if you really have THOUSANDS of hornets, be prepared to go through a lot of traps. Much better to try to track down their nests, if possible.

  • Carole Westgaard
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Carolyn - do you mean the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange or School of Earth, Society and the Environment ? Thanks for this info - and thanks too for the info from fcivish - all extremely helpful. I have heard of sweat bees and have seen the tiny things....I'm positive this mess I have is hornets (although I still haven't had time to study the difference between those and wasps - maybe the same animal?) - I haven't seen a bumblebee since I left Illinois - used to have a lot of those there. Never been stung by one and I don't even know if they sting - I have so much to learn. So thanks again.

    Westy

  • carolyn137
    10 years ago

    I mean Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

    Jeff McCormak was the person who started it but sold it a few years ago. I know Jeff very well and if you were to look at the tomato and pepper offerings I think you'd see that quite a few were from me.

    I've linked to the article below so you don't have to go looking for it. There's a wealth of information in that article for anyone interested

    Carolyn,

    Here is a link that might be useful: SESE article

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