The Easy Way To Protect The Fruit Trees In Your Yard From Getting Ravaged By Wasps

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Planting fruit trees in your yard can be a rewarding experience, and there are even tips and tricks to help your fruit trees grow faster. Whether you have apple, citrus, or berry trees, learning how to properly grow and care for these plants can possibly allow you to pick fruit from your own backyard, all while making your outdoor spaces look beautiful. With that said, planting fruit trees inevitably comes with problems, too. This can include pests like wasps, such as yellow jackets and paper wasps, who are also eager to eat fruit from the trees. Before considering other methods of wasp control, an easy way to protect the fruit trees in your yard from getting ravaged by wasps is using protection bags.

Wasps can be important members of the ecosystem, and they can even help control other types of insects that may attack fruit trees. Later in the summer and during fall, though, wasps shift their focus to sugar-based substances for their diets, including fruit. This not only makes fruit on your trees vulnerable to destruction, but the wasps might also build nests nearby. While you might not be able to prevent wasps from entering your yard entirely, protecting fruit with bags can help block their access. This can help preserve the fruit for you and your family, also while letting wasps know that your trees are not ideal places for them to feed from and take up residence in. Without reliable sources of food, you might see fewer incidents of wasps building their nests around your home, too.

Protective bags are designed to block wasps and certain other pests from accessing fruit on trees. While you can use plastic sandwich bags as one method for apples, these don't necessarily allow other types of fruit to breathe or get enough sunlight. This might lead to accidental fruit losses on the tree while trying to protect them from wasps. As such, you might consider mesh-containing versions, such as the DEELF Outlet Fruit Protection Bags that are specifically made for various sizes of fruit trees. Simply place the bag over the fruit starting at the bottom, and then pull the built-in drawstring at the top. One major caveat to consider is that fruit bags may not protect against all types of pests, as some anecdotal reports suggest that rodents may be able to tear them open.

In addition to protective fruit bags, it's important to take other wasp-deterring measures around your yard. First, any fruit that falls on the ground should be picked up as soon as possible to prevent attacks by wasps and other insects. Pick ripe fruit off the tree right away before it attracts these stinging insects. It's also important to look around your yard for other possible wasp-attracting areas, such as open trash cans and sources of water. You may even be able to repel wasps with easy-to-grow garden herbs, such as mint plants, or by using peppermint oil near your fruit trees. Finally, you might consider placing wasp traps around your yard near fruit trees for additional protection.