Insect

Spotted Wing Drosophila

An invasive fruit fly that unlike common vinegar flies lays eggs in intact ripening soft fruits, causing rapid internal rot and making fruit unmarketable.

Symptoms to Look For

Soft sunken spots on intact ripening fruits
Small white maggots inside the fruit flesh near the skin
Rapid collapse and fermentation of infested berries

Affected Plants

StrawberryRaspberryBlueberryCherryBlackberryPlumGrape

Organic Solutions

Fine mesh netting

Cover crops with fine insect-proof netting (less than 0.98 mm mesh) as fruit colours up to physically exclude egg-laying females.

Yeast-sugar traps

Hang red-balled traps with a yeast and sugar bait around crops to monitor adult presence and time protective measures.

Harvest promptly

Pick all ripe and over-ripe fruit every 1 - 2 days to remove the resource that attracts females, reducing local populations significantly.

Prevention

Destroy all unmarketable or over-ripe fruit by sealing in a plastic bag and leaving in the sun to kill any larvae inside
Remove and destroy wild brambles near the garden which act as a reservoir host population

Garden, by Willowbottom recommends only organic, wildlife-friendly solutions. No synthetic pesticides, no harmful chemicals - ever.