No one likes to have them around their homestead, or farm. Cathy Isom discusses how wasps are beneficial in your garden. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Wasps have a bad wrap because their stings hurt. With the more than 30,000 species of wasps around the world there are 3 types of wasps that are most commonly encountered by pest control professionals: paper wasps, hornets and yellow jackets.
These interesting buzzing creatures actually serve a couple of useful purposes around your land. If you’re an avid gardener then you know wasps are beneficial. They fly around feeding on your plants. In early summer wasps, like bees, pollinate plants and flowers as they feed on nectar. More importantly, they rid plants of insects which harm your garden. Because wasps are carnivorous, they eat many of the insects which do the greatest damage.
Unfortunately for us, wasps are attracted to open cans of soda pop, fruit juice, fallen apples beneath fruit trees, and other sweet foods. Be sure to cover drinks and open food containers, keep a lid on the compost, and avoid walking barefoot near fruit trees. Also, remove any fallen fruit rotting on the ground.
I’m Cathy Isom…