No more Wasps? An experiment.

Last year we visited the garden of Geoff Hamilton in England. In the orchard, hanging in the fruit trees, I noticed a so-called Waspinator. A sign next to it explained how it works. Wasps recognize in the Waspinator the shape and print of an enemy’s nest. So wasps quickly take off.

How intriguing, of course I wanted to try that at home too. So I buy myself a pack in the shop. In the package there are two Waspinators. It is a grey cloth bag with a print. You fill that bag with some plastic bags and close it with the cord at the bottom. Next, hang it in the tree with the noose on the top. I hang one in the pear and one in the plum tree. These are the places where most wasps hang out.

You will understand the puzzled faces of the visitors in my garden as they pass the strange bags hanging in the trees. I have to explain over and over again what these are used for. Since there is so much interest in the Waspinator my daughter searches on the internet to find out whether it is online for sale in the Netherlands. And it is!

But does it work?

At the end of April I hang the Waspinator in the tree. However, at the end of July it has fallen out. It appears the noose at the top has torn off. The cloth has completely gone. That is why I hang the Waspinator on the cord. It is hanging upside down now, but does that matter?

At this moment the plums are ripe. Are there many wasps? I spot some in the tree and count five on the fallen plums on the ground. No large numbers.

Conclusion: It works; the number of wasps is less. Disappointing is the life of the Waspinator. The manufacturer should really use a much better quality of cloth!

Read the comment from Richard ( Waspinator):

Thank you very much for the opportunity to comment on your story and also to have the opportunity to resolve the problem you have experienced with the fabric.

Firstly I am very pleased that Waspinator has worked for you in its task of deterring wasps – plum  trees are a very powerful lure for wasps and provide a big challenge for all wasp remedies.

With regards to the early deterioration of the fabric I am very sorry indeed to hear that your Waspinator has deteriorated so quickly, it should have lasted at least a full season.

We had a batch last year where a small proportion of the fabric from which Waspinator is made was not properly treated for UV resistance and units made from this part of the fabric can perish too quickly.

The problem affected about 2% of a production run and we did not find out about the problem until the units were all packed and shipped and in our warehouse and we had no way of identifying and isolating the bad ones.

I will be more than pleased to replace your Waspinator.

Kind regards

Richard

Waspinator Ltd

romantic rose garden

 The Waspinator in the garden of Geoff Hamilton.

A sign explained how it works 

The Waspinator upside down in my garden. 

 The cloth has completely gone.

Plums are ripe! 

Wasp in a flower. That is what I like most.