The spread of fruit fly has hit home with Bendigo gardens becoming the latest victim of the infestation of the insect which normally inhabits northern parts of Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Home gardener Pauline Mathrick said a whole community approach was needed to combat the insect and it may spread further if people were unaware they had an infestation in their backyard.
“The first signs I noticed were within the nectarines. Soft stone fruit were the first things to get it and then it went to the nashi pears,” Mrs Mathrick said.
“I had a little bit in my nashi pears last year, a few were infected and I wasn’t sure what it was.”
“I had a look on the internet and it seemed to confirm it, fruit fly, little maggots all throughout the fruit.”
Some of the first signs of the presence of the insect may only become visible once the fruit has been cut, revealing the “awful sight” of active larvae.
“You have to pick up all the fruit that drops on the ground, because they transfer from the fruit into the ground and then pupate into a fly and come up within 10 days and can reinfect other fruit,” Mrs Mathrick said.
“For people who garden, you need to spend a lot of time and money to combat it. It’s a battle, a constant battle.”
There are recommendations for gardeners to take out the infected trees and replace them with non-host plants, which refers to trees that are non-fruiting.
The Old Church on the Hill in Quarry Hill has also become victim to the pest.
Gardener Rose Vincent said they had noticed the first signs of fruit fly infestation three summers ago and that it had become clearly evident this year.
“We were prepared in the sense that we wanted to strip the trees as soon as possible and pick up rotten fruit from the ground diligently to avoid it spreading.”
“We also pruned our trees back quite drastically last season during winter so that we had more control over how much fruit would be produced this year.”
“What we have realised is that it’s going to take a whole community response to wiping out fruit fly,” Mrs Vincent said.
There are a multiple ways to prevent the spread of fruit fly, one is the Bendigo Regional Food Alliance’s method of creating a homemade trap.
You can also place all infected fruit in plastic bags and leave them in direct sunlight so UV rays are able to kill off the pest.
For more information on managing fruit fly, visit http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-insects-and-mites/queensland-fruit-fly/gardeners.