Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Luzypapel on February 10, 2018, 15:54
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Last year I had loads of cherries on my 3 year old tree, for the first time. But 90% of them contained maggots! (My friend over the other side of town had them in her cherries too).
I’ve done lots of research and found that there is a new pest called the Asian cherry vinegar fly (drosophilia suzukii), which arrived here in 2012 and is spreading (currently only in the south of England I think). The bad news is they don’t just lay eggs in ripening cherries, but also strawberries and all types of currant.
Traps and liquid attractant seem to be very expensive – e.g. from Agralan 2 traps and 5 litres of liquid plus postage is £50. Other options seem to be for commercial growers only, e.g. £250 minimum order from Trece.
Have you heard of this, do you have any better options, please?
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A quick look on Amazon shows cheaper traps for a different supplier, still expensive mind. I just bought similar things for apple moths and was not surprised by how poor they were for the money! As it's a fly problem I wonder if these would work if you bought the liquid and made your own lure? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trapro-Outdoor-Non-Toxic-Reusable-Flycatcher/dp/B07436KN97/ref=sr_1_20_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1518347540&sr=8-20-spons&keywords=cherry+fly+trap&psc=1
No experience though so take this suggestion with salt!
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Hi I work in biological crop protection and drosophila suzukii (or spotted wing drosophila / SWD if you prefer) is a massive headache for commercial fruit growers around the world. The company I work for actually makes the trap and bait supplied by Agralan HOWEVER - for small scale I would have a go at making your own trap with cups or bottles etc. Google SWD trap and see what you get. Red is the best colour to attract them. The bait solution needs to contain a attractant - usually a fruit vinegar - and a drop of soap to ensure the flies drown. You can add some yeast as a protein source as this seems to attract them better sometimes.
One thing to bear in mind is that it's not just your tree they are living on - any fruit nearby, in gardens or in the wild will harbour a population so if you can clear nearby brambles or pick up ripe fruit dropped from your tree or other neglected trees nearby, that will help.
Here's some interesting literature on the subject:
https://snohomishcfs.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/scfs_swd_final_report_112513.pdf
http://www.softfruitconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/17.45-Lorenzo-Tonina.pdf
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I've been carrying on my own research and found yesterday that you can make your own trap using a plastic tub with a lid, drill 12 holes in the sides, each about 3mm diameter. Fill it to a depth of 2 fingers with red wine vinegar and hang on the shady side of the tree. Check every week, empty and refill.
Thanks for the tips about using a red trap, and adding soap and yeast. Here's hoping all my fruit will be protected this year!