Apr 11, 2023 1 min read

Queensland Fruit Fly - A Problem Coming For Home Gardeners

Don't hope there is no Queensland Fruit Fly about - check for it, then eradicate it.

Queensland Fruit Fly is a serious problem for commercial & home gardeners.

All gardeners - not just fruit tree growers - need to be aware of QFF as a serious pest.

QFF is a significant horticultural pest for both home and commercial growers of fruit, grapes and some vegetables.

In warm weather their life cycle can be completed in around 30 days.

Agriculture Victoria recommends home gardeners use simple, cheap, homemade traps to monitor if QFF is active - rather than presuming and spraying, which kills beneficial insects needlessly.

Simple homemade traps can detect QFF and warn you to commence eradication.

Excluding QFF by using tree nets or fruit bags is recommended to protect your own fruit trees for longer in case neighbours are not spraying.

Where sprays are used they are applied to foliage and developing fruit, and are a contact killer of QFF.

Good garden hygiene is important - pick up fallen fruit and dispose of it.

http://www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/qff