Clean up the fruit at night.
this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2025
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I'm guessing that you're in the US and have strange rules about eliminating nature from your gardens... I'd just leave them to it. Wasps actually do a really important job and most of the time they just go about their own business. This time of year is hard for them as their preferred food has gone so they seek sugar, any sugar to survive, but the windfalls won't last forever and then the wasps themselves will also be gone until the spring.
The only time I'd deal with wasps is if there was a nest either in my house or shed, or by a door that I need to use. They're fascinating creatures when you get a chance to watch them.
Enjoy the nature, there's not much of it around nowadays.
Thanks for your feedback. I'm in Canada and as far as I know there are no laws or rules about this, but I don't want my neighbors to be harassed by wasps, nor am I happy with how many of them harass me on my deck at the moment. I'm not looking to exterminate them, rather safely pick up the fruit and chuck it into a field next to my house so that they're further away from us.
I just don't want to risk being attacked by them if I try to move the fruit, y'know? I can't safely run or even shoo them away right now due to the pain of my injuries.
They don't want to sting you.
Pick the fruit up in the earlyish morning when it's cool. Do it carefully so you're not squashing any wasps that are about and you should be fine.
Move slowly and don't 'flap'.
Unless you have health problems a couple of stings are painful, but not that bad.
Not long ago I had a Queen wasp fall into my T-shirt resulting in five stings on my back. I dosed up on antihistamines and was OK in an hour or so. - yes, the wasp was captured and safely released.
They donβt want to sting you.
Maybe they don't "want" to sting anyone, but wasps can be very territorial and aggressive. Every time I've ever been stung by a wasp, I was minding my own business and just happened to piss one off by existing nearby.
I was going to say I have picked up wasp-swarmed fruit (pears, apples, plums) for 25 years and have only been stung by a wasp once β when I stepped on it barefoot. But I realised wasps are probably not the same wasps everywhere and I live on another continent than OP and maybe you.
You could use something more enticing to attract them to another location.
Unrelated wasps seem to prefer prosciutto over any other item on a spread filled with meats and cheeses.
I would say leave the fruit where it is for now, pickup and throw out anything they are not currently devouring, and then leave something sweet or salty in another area somewhere.
Unrelated wasps seem to prefer prosciutto over any other item on a spread filled with meats and cheeses.
But so do I, this is terrible news! The prosciutto is the only part I don't want to throw out!
Use a tool with a long handle, like a shovel or one of those grabber things, to pick up the wasp-y pears and throw them in the desired direction. Wear protective clothing (long pants, long sleeves, gloves, hat, bandanna wrapped around your face, IDK) if you're overly paranoid about stings.
I got video a couple of days ago of a wasp plucking a fly off a horse's leg and flying away with it. Wild stuff!
This is the Way.
Get a bucket, some gloves and just take some time to pick the fruits up?
I had issues with fall wasps trying to nest on our balcony. I bought mint extract and sprayed it everywhere. The do not like the smell of mint. A lot less after that.
Smells nice too and is not a toxic chemical.
I've tried the mint extract approach before, but it has never helped keep wasps away from our house. I wonder if efficacy varies based on the specific kind of wasps.
Not sure. In Ontario. Read Rosemary also keeps them away.
Sounds like a non-problem to me. Go inside, wait a month, they'll be gone
September is, like, the nicest month weatherwise. There's gotta be a meeting place for OP and the wasps somewhere in the middle.
spray a bunch of strong smelling essential oils on the area
doesn't hurt them, but will deter them
Do it at night.
Set out a wasp trap too.
Depends on your machine, but mine can just ride over them and mulches them.
Buy some wasp freeze online. Wasp Freeze II, or something containing geraniol, line Proverde. It will kill them on contact. Wasp freeze is extremely effective. I manage a pest control company and this is what we use. Proverde is all natural and safe for animals and such.
"safe for animals" and "will kill them on contact" can't both be true.
Do you manage any pest controlling ways that move instead of kill our pollinators?
In California wasps/hornets aren't protected and considered accidental pollinators but bees are protected. There are plenty of resources from the state to have them removed but can take awhile. We also keep several bee keepers numbers on hand for that situation, but again takes time. Many people are deathly allergic to wasp stings and need immediate acting options that keep them safe. That's what these are. Pest control isn't always about killing things, but there are situations where these things are required. It's not my company, it's just my job.
Wasps and hornets are pest control. Leave them alone.
Ok I'll leave them alone.
sorry I can't come up with anything more humane but here it is: my safe-ish idea would be to get a large clear plastic box, and drop it (opening facing down) on top of the pears and wasps. If it's large enough you're likely to be able to do this without angering them, and as long as it falls flat-ish they won't be flying right back at you.
From there you can just leave them, or come back a while later and place something heavy on the box so it doesn't fly with the wind.
There's a chance some of them might escape but if they do it will be one by one manageable) and otherwise they'll keep feeding on the rotting fruit until weather or lack of water takes care of them.