I know wasps have a lot of gardening benefits as they eat a lot of gardener's worst insect pests. So I know I would never want to eradicate them. But down at our getaway cabin property (42 acres in Gause, Central TX) there are tons of wasps and they seem to prefer to build their nests on the front and back porch roof edge (paper wasps are building there) and on the the cabin roof overhang itself at one particular corner of the building (black wasps build there). Very aggravating to have them so close to where we want to sit on the porches and enjoy the place.
Long story short, I was reading on the internet that Wormwood plants (Artemesia 'Powis Castle') in particular repels them. So a month or so back I ordered one of these silvery-leaved plants and set it on the end of the porch they build nest the most. WE came back to Temple for a few weeks and went back and there were NO NEW NESTS! But ht elittle buggers had moved down to the other end of the porch and build nest attached to the window screens at waist-head level. Definitely a new behavior for them. So I said to my husband "I think this plant really did cause them to move farther away than where they usually build". So we knocked those nests down and came on back to Temple. Next trip down there we saw NOT A SINGLE NEW NEST WAS CONSTRUCTED on their preferred front porch site............not one! But I found a large nest 40' away in the yard built on a downed dead tree branch awaiting burning by the fire pit. I think this plant really performs as advertised.
So I just bought 3 more plants of this strain of wormwood (There are so many beautiful cultivars in this family. I don't know if they all repel wasps or not). We took them down to the cabin yesterday (still no new nests in sight) and potted one for the opposite end of the front porch, potted one for the back porch, and planted one direct in the ground at the corner where the black wasps love to build, we think between the wood roof and the outer metal roof. I'm hoping these plants will send the wasps out to the pasture or way over to the barn to start their nest building. I'm tired of my husband swatting at wasps that get in the cabin with swatters, and pouring wasp killer sprays all over the porch. I don't want to kill them...............just move them away from the cabin entirely. Will probably plant them all direct in the ground once the majority of wasps have moved on.
Just thought I'd share my surprising discovery about Artemesia.
