Urban hot spots

Home gardeners in the below hot spot areas are asked to take extra precautions to help ensure the effective control of fruit fly. The region’s trapping grid has identified these urban locations as Queensland fruit fly hot spots. Extra vigilance is required to reduce the ability of fruit fly to infest fruit and to survive in them, allowing for the continuation of their lifecycle.

Urban trapping sites registering hot spots over the past month include:

• Avenel • Kyabram • Shepparton

• Barooga • Merrigum • Strathmerton

• Congupna • Mooroopna • Tungamah

• Echuca • Numurkah • Wunghnu

•Yarrawonga

Controlling fruit fly

Home gardeners and property owners with a fruit tree or vegetable patch can undertake a few simple measures to help reduce the spread of fruit fly:

• Remove unwanted fruiting plants
• Harvest fruit and use or destroy all harvested fruit
• Place traps out and check regularly for signs of fruit fly
• Check ripening fruit for sting marks or maggots
• Place netting over whole plants, fruiting branches, fruit trusses or individual fruit to protect crops
• Work with neighbours to place baits to allow for a greater effective
• Don’t restrict your vigilance to your backyard – fruit fly can be in fruit in your front yard, nearby vacant land, untended crops, roadsides and creek banks

Exotic pest fruit flies

While Victoria is free from these exotic pest fruit flies, increased awareness of the potential threat they pose is important in protecting the region. Awareness is recommended around the following exotic pest fruit flies:

Mediterranean fruit fly [Medfly] (Ceratitis capitata) – not present in Victoria. This pest also attacks most fruit and fruiting vegetables. For more information about Medfly, click here.

Spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) – not present in Australia. Attacks all berries (including grapes) and most pome and stone fruit. For more information about spotted wing drosophila, click here.

Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) – not present in Australia. Attacks more fruits and vegetables than Qfly and Medfly and is a major impact pest. For a general discussion on exotic pest fruit flies, click here.

Olive fly (Bactrocera oleae) – not present in Australia. The olive fly is the number one pest in olives grown around the Mediterranean. It has invaded and established in the USA and is highly invasive. For more information about Olive fly, click here.

For more information about Agriculture Victoria’s Victoria’s Fruit Fly Strategy 2021-2025, click here.

For more information about these flies, contact the GMV Regional Fruit Fly Office on (03) 5871 9222 or visit www.fruitflycontrol.com.au.