Bees Destroying My Grapes?

A: Thin-skinned varieties of grapes are often susceptible to wasp and hornet damage in the fall. These insects usually create holes where the stem meets the fruit and are actually responsible for the initial fruit damage. Bees, opportunists that they are, then come along and are attracted to the sugary grape pulp. Once they find a source of sugar, they tell their friends and your trouble starts to multiply.

Unfortunately, you also need bees to pollinate your vines for grape production. Bees only live about 6 weeks, so killing them with insecticides doesn't work because more worker bees simply quickly replace the dead bees. The use of any insecticides on your grapes against wasps and hornets would have required applications at pre-harvest intervals and will do little good now that your grape crop is here. My suggestions is two-fold:

1. Search and destroy any nearby wasp or hornet nests. Check the trees, ground and outbuildings on your property.

2. Lure bees away from your vines by planting nectar-producing flowers away from the area your grapes are growing. Plan for blooms all season long-especially during the late summer when your grape crop is coming in (use butterfly attracting plants as your guide). Hanging sugar feeders may also work, but understand that you risk coming into contact with stinging insects while cleaning and refilling them.