Fruit fly – how can you manage a difficult pest?
Fruit flies are active – don’t get caught out!
If you wish to grow fruit then you need to be thinking about managing fruit fly.
Your fruit are most at risk when:
- Conditions are warm
- There have been recent rainfall or shower events
- You have ripening fruit susceptible to fruit fly attack
Pesticide sprays are not the best option
In the past cover sprays have been used to control fruit fly. The chemicals used to kill fruit fly are toxic to beneficial insects and this invariably leads to other pest problems. They are also not good for human consumption and should be avoided.
A systems approach for managing a difficult pest
We endorse a multi-pronged approach to protect your crop from fruit fly:
- Monitor the fruit crop by using fruit fly traps and also inspect regularly for any evidence of damage or fruit fly activity. If the conditions described above apply then you should be actively practicing fruit fly control.
- Regularly apply protein bait sprays to attract and kill fruit fly before they are able to sting your fruit
- Place MAT cups to suppress the male fly population
- If you have backyard fruit trees you might do best to use netting to protect your fruit from attack
Our fruit fly toolkit
We have put together the elements of fruit fly management into an easy-to-read brochure. Download your copy here.
