Bees and wasps

[catwalker90]

I have a pear tree in my back yard and the fruit never grow big enough to pick, but there are tons of them and they attract bees and wasps, especially when they fall off the tree. I don't want to kill the tree or damage the leaves, but I need something that will keep the bees away. Does anyone know of a product?

 

[limcid]

Why buy when you can make?

Here's a video and an article on how to make your own bee/wasp trap!

Article: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Wasp-Trap

 

[headfullofbees]

The bees and wasps are not your problem.
The pears are getting over-ripe before reaching full size, and when they drop off the tree, the sugar is attracting them.
What you need to do is to thin out your fruit.
When the little pears appear, try removing half of them.
Make sure you feed the tree a little gp fertiliser each spring.
Hopefully, your pears will grow to full size, and you'll be able to pick and enjoy them as they ripen, and there will be less attraction for the bees and wasps.

 

[Kansas Terri]

Bee keepers often use Fischer's Bee-Quick to get the bees off of the honey comb, so that the honey can be harvested. Basically, a few drops are placed on a cloth and placed inside the inner cover. The bees move to the bottom of the hive to escape the odor, and then the top combs are easily removed. There are some products that smell as bad to humans as it does to bees, but Fischer's Bee-Quick has a very mild fragrance to humans. Only bees hate the smell!

Regrettably, I do not know if this will help you. Wasps will eat fallen fruit, but bees only eat fruit if no flowers are blooming. Most of the insects that are on the fruit are therefor probably wasps, and I do not know if wasps also avoid the smells that bees hate! A wasp trap might work better for you.

 

[DancingLady]

I think the problem is the fruit on the ground. It's a food source for them, so they are coming to chow. If you can clean up the fallen fruit regularly that should greatly reduce the amount of wasps because they won't be smelling all the tasty sugary fruit on the ground.

 

[Rosyrain]

Bees love sweet things, do getting rid of the rotten fruit should help you out. Do you have an ant problem in the area of the tree too? It seems as though whenever there is something sweet left on the ground a whole bunch of ants also show up for the bounty.

 

[ampjorgensen]

Gosh I wouldn't want to get rid of them. First I would avoid traps and things that kill them. We are facing a problem of bee's dying due to pesticides. We actually need bees to help pollinate and help plants grow and bear fruit... SOOO I wouldn't do anything to crazy. I feel like the above answers on getting rid of the rotten fruit and Bee-Quick are your best options.