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Wasp Control in Maple Tree
Stumbled upon your site a year or two ago and love it!
I searched your site, in addition to the internet, but cannot find an answer to a problem we (my neighbour and I) have (about wasp control).
My neighbour has a Norway Maple planted on the side between the two driveways, with a west exposure. Last september the entire tree (approx 25 feet tall) was alive with wasps (200-300 at any given time) for about 3-4 weeks.
There was no nest visible in the tree or near the tree.
Is there something about the norway maple that attracts wasps? Is there anything we can do to prevent the same thing from happening again? We both have young children and she is also deathly allergic to anything stinging so I am hoping to gain some knowledge on the matter. Any insight you have would be greatly appreciated.
Regards
Paula, Colorado - Zone 5
Doug says
Well, actually I don't know any reason why wasps would be gathering in a maple.
There might have been some aphid infestation up there; heavy colonies of aphids might excrete sweet "honeydee" that would attract them to the sweetness.
Aphid Eaters
Some wasps also eat aphids so they're up there doing you a favor and getting rid of this pest.
They'd leave when the food source dried up.
Can you prevent it from happening again? My best guess is no.
You could spray the heck out of the tree to stop other potential food sources for the wasps but that's more problematic than it sounds (spraying up into a tree to adequately control any pest demands serious equipment).
But given you don't know what you're spraying for (it could be aphids or it might not be) you'd be risking health and wasting money if that's not the issue.
Getting rid of the tree is also not a solution. You're going to find that insects such as wasps have a mind of their own when it comes to where they're living and what they decide to do. They can just as easily wander over to your place from a neighbor's home.
Misdirection
Misdirection is sometimes a good thing to do with garden pests. Feed them at the far end of your garden. Put up a sugar feeder (like a hummingbird feeder) and the wasps will congregate down there rather than up by the house. We do it with squirrels and rabbits so it might very well work although I can understand your reluctance to attract them at all.
Traps
There are also wasp traps for small populations that work quite nicely when put around "people" areas of the garden. The wasps are attracted to a sugar bait inside a bottle and can't get themselves out again. They drown or starve to death in there.
I understand your aversion to this pest but having seen them (paper wasps made a huge nest on the back of my place in a day or two last summer) in action, I'm not sure there's anything you can do to deter them other than the above.
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