Pest and Disease

Mid January is about the time for Mediterranean Fruit Fly to arrive. Not to be confused with the recently reported Queensland Fruit Fly in Perth, Medfly has been in WA for sometime. They’re widespread throughout Busselton and exist in pockets elsewhere through the Capes region. Female Medfly ‘sting’ fruit and lay eggs which hatch into small larvae that turn fruit to mush. Control is difficult once the fly’s are endemic in your garden. The recommended organic practice is to bait and lure – which involves a weekly application of a syrup based bait such as this: https://www.yates.com.au/yates-200ml-natures-way-fruit-fly-control coupled with a trap or lure such as: https://www.pestrol.com.au/…/biotrap-qld-female-fruit…/ (works for Medfly and QLD Fruit fly) There are also cover sprays available of the non-organic chemical kind which are often expensive and hazardous to apply. Details can be found in this spray guide: https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/…/Pome%20%26%20Summer… Netting is available and is an option however Medfly often appears from the ground around your fruit tree where larvae have previously dropped from infected fruit, and is generally inside the net already. It’s also a good idea to practice general fruit tree hygiene around this time of year by removing all rotting or dropped fruit so as to avoid attracting Medfly to your trees. More information about Medfly control can be found here: https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/medfly/control-options-backyards