When wasps flock to the garden table in summer, it can be really annoying. But as is so often the case, there is strength in stillness. Instead of waving around wildly, you can just put a basil plant on the table and sit back and relax.
Wasps don't like the smell of basil
Smells against wasps
Keeping wasps away from the coffee table with plum cake or the barbecue with juicy steaks is difficult. Because once they scent fat prey, the striped stinging insects are unstoppable. Especially in late summer, when their colony is growing the most and there are a lot of offspring to look after, the animals have a lot to do. And they can't afford to be shy about it.
Nevertheless: With apparently gentle methods, the pests can be kept away relatively effectively. Because they have a very fine sense of smell, which not only helps them to track down sources of food, but which you can also use to drive them away. Namely by surrounding your patio table with scents that make wasps prefer to flee. The good thing about it: Many wasp-repellent scents smell very pleasant for us humans.
To note:
- Wasps have a very fine sense of smell
- it can also be used for expulsion
- they find ethereal scents generally repulsive
Basil as a wasp repellent
The fresh, balsamic, spicy-sweet scent of basil is one of the unpleasant smells for wasps. The royal herb is rich in essential oils, which wasps generally find rather repellent. Therefore, it is advisable to simply place a pot of fresh basil directly on the dining table. This not only keeps the wasps away, but is also a beautiful, natural table decoration and offers the round a direct way of adding spices. Especially with hearty meals such as barbecues or snacks with Caprese salad, you can kill several wasps - oh, flies - with one stone.
Also effective as an oil
As an alternative to the basil pot, you can also use basil oil to repel wasps. For example, let it evaporate in a scented light or mix it with water and spray it with a water disperser. Basil oil is also a delicious and healthy addition to fresh salad dressings. You can even easily make it yourself by steeping fresh basil leaves in olive oil for about a month.