Queensland Fruit Fly infestations have been found in the Nillumbik area.
Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) is one of Australia’s worst horticultural pests. It is a serious threat to commercial fruit growers, hobby farmers, and home gardeners. The QFF lays her eggs in many common fruits, ‘fruiting vegetables’ and some native fruits. Inside the fruit the growing larvae cause the flesh to rot, making it unsaleable and undesirable to eat. QFF populations can increase very quickly!
Nillumbik residents can help prevent the fruit fly from spreading and reduce the risk of the QFF finding a suitable home in Nillumbik.
Do you have questions or need help in the management of QFF? Contact one of our accredited trainers today!
Marina Bistrin
|
marinabistrin@gmail.com
|
Julie French
|
Julief.davidd@gmail.com
|
Suprabha Soundararajan
|
suprabhas@gmail.com
|
Pam Jenkins
|
pjreflexology@yahoo.com.au
|
Jules Jay
|
julesjay@positiveseeds.com.au
|
Jacinda Brown
|
chookshedstudio@gmail.com
|
Dianne Wollaston
|
dianne.wollaston@gmail.com
|
Daryl Morrow
|
darylmorrow@hotmail.com
|
Cass Groves
|
cass@oneacornmarketing.com.au
|
Bernard Stahn
|
bernhard@melbpc.org.au
|
John Eberbach
|
eberbachdj@gmail.com
|
Sharon Blyth
|
sharonblyth65@gmail.com
|
Watch this series of short videos to learn how to identify, prevent and manage QFF in your garden.
Suspect Queensland Fruit Fly?
If you have found QFF in your harvest this season you may put a sample in a sealed bag in the fridge and text an image of it to Council’s Land Management Officer on 0456 708 525. Council can support you to ID the pest and provide information to assist you to eradicate it.
Steps you can take now:
- prune host plants regularly to a manageable height - so all the fruit can be easily picked and the trees can be netted with exclusion netting if need be.
- harvest all ripe fruit and ‘fruiting vegetables’ from the host plants before it has a chance to fall onto the ground (fruiting vegetables includes tomatoes, chillies, capsicums, eggplants, etc).
- collect fallen fruit immediately and dispose of it in the general waste (not compost). NB. Suspect infested fruit needs to be treated (cooked or frozen) before disposal.
- remove your unwanted or unmanaged host plants – including blackberries and unmanageable ornamental fruiting plants.
- carefully examine the fruit for pests and diseases before sharing and swapping fruit with friends. Movement of fruit from place to place is how pests and diseases are most commonly spread.
- avoid transporting any fresh produce into the area from known QFF areas such as northern Victoria, NSW, and QLD. This prevents new incursions.
- Traps that are designed to attract, catch and monitor QFF in your garden as well as bait sprays, gels and insecticides are commercially available. You can also make your own trap.
Queensland Fruit Fly for the home gardener
Presented by Edendale Environment and Community Farm and Nillumbik Shire Council in October 2020
Queensland Fruit Fly for nursery staff
Presented by horticultural entomologist Andrew Jessup, this online webinar recording presents best practice options, so you can support your customers to manage and prevent Queensland Fruit Fly in their gardens.
Useful resources:
Managing Queensland Fruit Fly in your garden
Fruit fly guide(PDF, 3MB)
Make your own Queensland Fruit Fly trap(PDF, 2MB)
Queensland Fruit Fly webinar for nursery staff(PDF, 39MB)