gooseberry fly

I use Provado Ultimate Bug Killer when these appear. This is systemic, so even the caterpillars not directly sprayed will die.

It is safe to use on gooseberry bushes and will not harm the fruit. It will tell you on the label how long to wait before harvesting.

If you can clear the infestation, you should reduce the chance of them appearing again next year: the caterpillars overwinter as pupae in the ground, so none left means no new moths next year!

The caterpillars only eat the leaves, not the fruit.

You can start picking the fruit now to make some tasty tart tarts. Thin the fruit out as you pick so the others will grow bigger.

Provado bottle says 3 days harvest interval between spraying and eating so perhaps pick some and then spray.