As summer approaches, so too will the swarms of wasps that are determined to join you for your outdoor meals. This safe, cheap and chemical free trick will help keep them away.
Wasps have a habit of ruining any outdoor event if food is involved, whether that be lunch in a pub garden, an ice cream from a van or even just a walk around an orchard of fruit trees.
This clever trick is popular in Mediterranean countries including France and the Greek island of Corfu, but appears to be little known in the UK.
All that is required is a metallic dish, such as an old baked bean tin or aluminium foil takeaway container, and coffee grounds. The coffee can be dry used coffee so there is no extra expense or waste. Bags of ground coffee typically sell in supermarkets for a couple of pounds.
Simply light the coffee grounds and allow them to smoulder. Add a few drops of lighter fluid if it struggles to light. The smoke and smell deters the wasps, while not affecting the people at the table. It also works for repelling mosquitoes. The caffeine and diterpenes in the grounds act as a natural insecticide, the latter of which actually being antimicrobial.
For an even greater effect, add fresh bay leaves to amplify the repellent. Most bugs have a very strong sense of smell and coffee grounds are very potent, especially when burned. This helps to mask the scents that attract the wasps, making it harder for them to locate the food. Additionally, smoke is generally associated with danger, which helps keep them at bay. This is why beekeepers waft smoke across their hives, to calm the bees before carrying out maintenance.
There is also the added bonus of not having to spray the insects with wasp repellent such as “Raid”, which are expensive and packed with chemicals and could get onto your food. Indeed, many insecticides can cause poisoning after being swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin, resulting in damage to the eyes and breathing difficulties.
It should be noted that the coffee does not usually burn with a flame, but still can get very hot, so be sure to keep it out of reach of children.
Finally, if you have areas of stagnant water in your garden, where mosquitos often breed, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of freshly used coffee grounds per 240 millilitres of water. Used coffee grounds have been shown to kill mosquito larvae and slow down adult mosquitoes from laying eggs. Just beware not to add coffee to ponds or large pools of water that link to larger waterways or that animals need to survive.
