Control Fruit Fly - Treatment

The Queensland fruit fly is common in the warmer times of year. After mating, the female lays her eggs under the skin of the fruit. When the maggot-like larvae hatch, they burrow deeper into the fruit causing it to rot. Searles Fruit Fly Trap is an effective reusable trap to monitor and control fruit fly activity around vegetables, particularly tomatoes, and around citrus trees. It contains a wick that attracts male fruit flies, traps and kills them, stopping the breeding cycle.

Fruit fly is a terrible pest that is mainly active through the warmer months from September through to April. The female fruit fly will sting (lay her eggs) into mature fruit, where the eggs will soon hatch as fruit fly larvae (maggots). Once the fruit has been stung, it will begin to rot internally from around the sting mark. Fruit fly is difficult to control and loves the heat. It poses the biggest problem in warm or tropical climates, especially in fruit varieties which mature in summer. With winter-maturing fruit and in cold climates, fruit fly will have much less effect.

The best way to control fruit fly is with fruit fly traps. These contain the pheromone of the female fruit fly and a wick treated with an insecticide. The male fruit fly is drawn into the trap by the pheromone and when he comes in contact with the wick he is killed by the insecticide. Because the female has not mated she will not sting the fruit and the fruit fly breeding cycle will be broken. In this way, the need to use poisonous sprays on the tree or fruit is completely avoided.

Fruit fly can be attracted to your area by the smell of ripe or rotten fruit, so always remove and discard any fallen fruit, and ensure any fruit in compost bins is sufficiently covered.

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