If you really need to get rid of them them Dovefromabove advice is the best, give the tree a good water spray. However the wasps are doing the same thing by eating the aphids and when they run out of food they will go away.
Please don't kill the wasps they are a very necessary part of the food chain. They only sting because they think they are being attacked and it's their way of fighting back.
My bay is fine but Mums about three miles away in Somerset,is also covered in wasps and small flies.I would estimate over a hundred wasps a couple of days ago.
never had this prob but told crushed garlic washed over or sprayed if poss should send em off, interested to see if it works ,and you can get some garlic for a pound from s/market not a lot to lose, and lots to gain if my friend is correct,
wasps will place caterpillars and aphids into a single cell containg the eggs they have laid, seal up the cell and when the larve hatch in the cell they have food for them to eat. i have had lots of tiny striped caterpillars in my garden munching nigh on everything, also my bay tree which has never suffered before! the wasps are foraging for them they are larve food! wasps also eat flies and their larve, which helps us and our enviroments they also drink nectar so help to pollinate our plants....so yes wasps do have a rightful place on our planet lol. near the end of summer wasps will find sugar from anywhere that it is available to them, they will rob hives and mug bees eek! if you kill a wasp the smell from the dead wasp attracts and aggrivates other wasps which can lead to you being stung, wasps can sting you more than once, so dont kill em , flap your arms about just walk away. hope this helps to shed some light on the wasps habits and life. tara a bit
My bay is covered in wasps for the first time this year. They are definitely wasps not hover flies and I can see no aphids or any reason for them to feed on it. I will be getting rid of the bay and buying from the supermarket in the future as I am allergic to the stings and they have interrupted every outdoor eating experience this year.
I live in Somerset and my standard bay tree is also covered in wasps. I believe they are called tree wasps and appear to be smaller than the usual common type of wasp.
I also understand that, although most people don't really want them in their gardens, they are a good to have around as they eat the pests.
I've had wasps on my bay tree leaves for the first time this year. I have been baffled because the wasps seem drunk after visiting the trees. Also the leaves are being eaten, which can't be the wasps? After reading around I have just inspected the underside of the leaves and found small yellow scale insects. Scale insects exude a sweet sticky substance called honeydew. Maybe this is what the wasps are after? So how to get rid of the scale insects and what to do about the decimated leaves
I'm staying at my mum and dad's in Somerset and we too have just noticed this phenomenon today. Bizarre! And that's how I ended up on here, looking for answers. So many wasps and large blue bottle type flies. They appear to be licking the leaves and don't seem bothered by me, except when I walk past the Bay quickly, they all swarm and then get back to business on the plant once I've passed. Most odd, but I think the honey dew answer is the most likely. No signs of aphids at all. Lots of ants, which are probably after the same sticky sweet coating.
Posts
If you really need to get rid of them them Dovefromabove advice is the best, give the tree a good water spray. However the wasps are doing the same thing by eating the aphids and when they run out of food they will go away.
Please don't kill the wasps they are a very necessary part of the food chain. They only sting because they think they are being attacked and it's their way of fighting back.
My bay is fine but Mums about three miles away in Somerset,is also covered in wasps and small flies.I would estimate over a hundred wasps a couple of days ago.
HI I have the same problem with bay trees wasps and blue bottles every summer
I have sprayed them for Aphids a few mins ago i also get a black stickey substance on
the leaves i thought thats what the wasps and flies where after we have washed the le
aves with soap and water did not solve the problem
JB
good luck
wasps will place caterpillars and aphids into a single cell containg the eggs they have laid, seal up the cell and when the larve hatch in the cell they have food for them to eat. i have had lots of tiny striped caterpillars in my garden munching nigh on everything, also my bay tree which has never suffered before! the wasps are foraging for them they are larve food! wasps also eat flies and their larve, which helps us and our enviroments they also drink nectar so help to pollinate our plants....so yes wasps do have a rightful place on our planet lol. near the end of summer wasps will find sugar from anywhere that it is available to them, they will rob hives and mug bees eek! if you kill a wasp the smell from the dead wasp attracts and aggrivates other wasps which can lead to you being stung, wasps can sting you more than once, so dont kill em , flap your arms about just walk away. hope this helps to shed some light on the wasps habits and life. tara a bit
My bay is covered in wasps for the first time this year. They are definitely wasps not hover flies and I can see no aphids or any reason for them to feed on it. I will be getting rid of the bay and buying from the supermarket in the future as I am allergic to the stings and they have interrupted every outdoor eating experience this year.
I live in Somerset and my standard bay tree is also covered in wasps. I believe they are called tree wasps and appear to be smaller than the usual common type of wasp.
I also understand that, although most people don't really want them in their gardens, they are a good to have around as they eat the pests.
Carol.
05/09/13
Isn't the natural world endlessly fascinating... we will never have all the answers, thank goodness
I've had wasps on my bay tree leaves for the first time this year. I have been baffled because the wasps seem drunk after visiting the trees. Also the leaves are being eaten, which can't be the wasps? After reading around I have just inspected the underside of the leaves and found small yellow scale insects. Scale insects exude a sweet sticky substance called honeydew. Maybe this is what the wasps are after? So how to get rid of the scale insects and what to do about the decimated leaves
I'm staying at my mum and dad's in Somerset and we too have just noticed this phenomenon today. Bizarre! And that's how I ended up on here, looking for answers. So many wasps and large blue bottle type flies. They appear to be licking the leaves and don't seem bothered by me, except when I walk past the Bay quickly, they all swarm and then get back to business on the plant once I've passed. Most odd, but I think the honey dew answer is the most likely. No signs of aphids at all. Lots of ants, which are probably after the same sticky sweet coating.
Anna