Each year, the University of Idaho extension office puts on the Banana Belt Gardening Series, a set of classes that help homeowners with various projects around the house, from raising fruit, proper pruning techniques, and even landscaping ideas and how-to instructions.
Last night, Dr. Ed Bechinski and Sun Pest Management's own Russell Craber were the lecturers. Russ lectured on preemergence and postemergence chemicals the homeowner should be aware of, how they work, and when to apply them.
Dr. Bechinski, hilarious as always, lectured on a new fruit pest we have in the Inland Northwest, Drosophila suzukii, or spotted wing drosophila.
This is a bad guy (or gal) for sure. It's not picky with its target food source: blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, plums, apricots....the list goes on.
It's extremely small, very hungry, and reproduces fast, so setting up monitoring stations around your garden will make the difference between you getting the fruit or the fly getting the fruit.
Dr. Bechinski recommended hanging a plastic bottle with about 2" of apple cider vinegar (NOT white vinegar) with a couple drops of dish soap in it. Poke holes in the upper portion of the bottle with a nail, and hang several around your fruit garden to trap them.
Monitor them several times a week, and if you find them, he recommended using a product with spinosad or malathion, assuming the fruit crop you're treating is on the label (check before you buy it). These insecticides decay VERY quickly in the sunshine, so they can be used within a few days of harvest.
While many people prefer not to treat their fruits with insecticide, be forewarned that these flies are hungry, and they're new enough so that we don't have many other options for control.
Questions? Email Russ or Chris! NoPest@sunpest.com
Last night, Dr. Ed Bechinski and Sun Pest Management's own Russell Craber were the lecturers. Russ lectured on preemergence and postemergence chemicals the homeowner should be aware of, how they work, and when to apply them.
Dr. Bechinski, hilarious as always, lectured on a new fruit pest we have in the Inland Northwest, Drosophila suzukii, or spotted wing drosophila.
This is a bad guy (or gal) for sure. It's not picky with its target food source: blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, plums, apricots....the list goes on.
It's extremely small, very hungry, and reproduces fast, so setting up monitoring stations around your garden will make the difference between you getting the fruit or the fly getting the fruit.
Dr. Bechinski recommended hanging a plastic bottle with about 2" of apple cider vinegar (NOT white vinegar) with a couple drops of dish soap in it. Poke holes in the upper portion of the bottle with a nail, and hang several around your fruit garden to trap them.
Monitor them several times a week, and if you find them, he recommended using a product with spinosad or malathion, assuming the fruit crop you're treating is on the label (check before you buy it). These insecticides decay VERY quickly in the sunshine, so they can be used within a few days of harvest.
While many people prefer not to treat their fruits with insecticide, be forewarned that these flies are hungry, and they're new enough so that we don't have many other options for control.
Questions? Email Russ or Chris! NoPest@sunpest.com
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