Wespen verjagen zonder gif. Een experiment.

Verleden jaar bezochten we de tuin van Geoff Hamilton in Engeland. Daar zag ik in de fruitbomen een zogenaamde Waspinator hangen. Op het bordje ernaast staat uitgelegd dat wespen in de Waspinator de vorm en print herkennen van een vijandig nest. De wespen gaan er dan vlug vandoor.

Zo’n intrigerend product, dat wil ik thuis wel eens proberen. In het winkeltje is het te koop. Er zitten twee Waspinators in de verpakking. De Waspenator is een soort zak van stof met een printje. Je vult de zak op met wat plastic zakken en sluit het met het koord aan de onderkant. Daarna hang je het in de boom aan de lus die op de bovenkant zit. Ik hang er een in de peren- en een  in de pruimenboom. Daar komen altijd de meeste wespen op af.

Jullie begrijpen de verbaasde gezichten van de bezoekers van mijn tuin als ze de vreemde zakken in de boom zien hangen en ik vertel het verhaal keer op keer. Er is veel belangstelling voor het product en mijn dochter zoekt op internet of het ook online in Nederland te koop is. En dat blijkt inderdaad het geval te zijn!

Maar werkt het?

De Waspinator hangt dit jaar vanaf eind april in de boom. Echter eind juli ligt hij al op de grond. Wat blijkt, de lus aan de bovenkant is er af gescheurd. De stof is totaal vergaan. Daarom hang ik de Waspenator maar aan het koord op. Nu hangt hij weliswaar ondersteboven, maar dat moet toch kunnen?

Inmiddels zijn de pruimen rijp. Zijn er veel wespen? Ik zie er wel enkele in de boom en tel er vijf op de afgevallen pruimen die op de grond liggen. Grote hoeveelheden zie ik niet.

Conclusie: Het werkt, het aantal wespen is minder. Teleurstellend is de levensduur van de Waspinator. De fabrikant zou een veel betere kwaliteit stof moeten gebruiken!

Lees het antwoord van Richard ( Waspinator)

Dear Hetty

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, please let me have your address and I will send it direct to you with our apologies.

Kind regards

Richard

Waspinator Ltd

Fijne week

Hetty

romantische rozentuin

Waspinator in de boom in de tuin van Geoff Hamilton.

Uitleg hoe het werkt.

De pruimen zijn rijp. 

Maar de Waspinator is al vergaan! 

Wesp op bloemen. Dat is veel leuker!

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 of Richard (Waspinator):

Dear Hetty

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