Suggested fruit fly control strategies for home gardeners
Here are five suggested fruit fly control strategies to choose from. Each strategy provides a combination of control methods that you can use to effectively minimise or prevent fruit fly damage to your crop and prevent more flies breeding.
Strategy |
Situation and suitability |
Methods |
Exclusion |
- Low impact, organic approach
- Damage-free crops produced
- Low to high fruit fly pressure area
- Near-by sources of infestations
- Some physical work and diligence required
- Small to medium crop (use netting if large crop)
|
Pruning
Exclusion
Sanitation
|
Cover spraying |
- High impact, chemical approach
- Little, if any damage to crops
- Low to high fruit fly pressure area
- Nearby sources of infestations
- Physical work and diligence required
- Medium to large crop
|
Pruning
Cover spraying
Sanitation
|
Baiting |
- Low to medium impact
- Some crop damage may occur
- Low fruit fly pressure area
- Nearby sources of infestations may compromise
- Physical work and diligence required
- Small to large crop
|
Pruning
Trapping
Baiting
Cover spraying (if required*)
Sanitation
Early harvest
|
Host removal |
- Low impact, organic approach
- Low to high fruit fly pressure area
- Nearby sources of infestation
- Initial physical work required
- More suited to home owners
|
Host plant removal
Alternative plants (optional)
Non-preferred hosts (optional)
|
Prevention |
- Low impact, organic approach
- No fruit fly pressure
- Nearby sources of infestations a possibility
- Some physical work and diligence required
|
Pruning
Sanitation
Early harvest
Trapping (optional)
|
* Spray in addition to baiting if baiting alone is not noticeably reducing fruit fly damage