When nasty worms swarm in cherries, the cherry fruit fly is up to mischief in the orchard. Read this guide on how to identify the pest and fight it with natural remedies. Proven instructions explain which control methods against Rhagoletis cerasi work for juicy cherries without nasty maggots.

Yellow boards should be put up in early/mid-May

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. What are cherry fruit flies?
  3. Cherry fruit fly biological control
  4. Mechanical Combat Instructions
  5. Cherry fruit fly spray control
  6. Organic trump card beneficial insects
  7. frequently asked Questions

    8. the essentials in brief

    • The cherry fruit fly is 3-5 mm small, black, has a yellow dorsal shield and transparent wings with black-blue horizontal stripes.
    • Fighting cherry fruit flies is possible with protective nets, yellow boards, floor fleece and the beneficial parasitic wasps (€22.99) and chickens.
    • Natural pesticides are nematodes in water and wormwood tea.

    What are cherry fruit flies?

    The mastermind behind spoiled cherries full of maggots is the cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis cerasi) from the borefly family (Tephritidae). The fly is a dangerous pest on cherry trees because females misuse the fruit as a breeding station for their brood. This appearance makes a cherry fruit fly unmistakable:

    • Body length: 3 to 5 mm
    • Body Color: Black with yellow spots on head and body
    • Wings: transparent with black-blue transverse bands
    • Eyes: bright green compound eyes
    • Special feature: yellow label on the back

    The larva of a cherry fruit fly is 4 to 6 mm long with a creamy white, worm-like body.

    This is how maggots get into the cherries

    Maggots in cherries are extremely unpleasant

    The flight season begins in mid-May. Until then, cherry fruit flies have hibernated in the ground at a depth of about 5 centimeters. Target-oriented, the insects fly to a cherry tree and first devote themselves to a 14-day ripening period. Freshly strengthened, the fruit flies turn to family planning. Mating females wait patiently for the ripening cherries to change color from green to yellow and start the following vicious circle:

    • storage of the eggs: with a single stab in a cherry just below the fruit peel
    • hatching of a larva: within a week (5 to 8 days)
    • First action: Larva pierces the cherry to the core
    • maggot eating: 30-day binge eating in the pulp
    • damage picture: rotten fruits that fall off half ripe

    Stuffed maggots fall down with the spoiled cherries or rappel down. In no time at all, each fully grown larva buries itself in the ground, where it pupates and overwinters. The serious damage in the cultivation of sweet and sour cherries can be traced back to explosive multiplication. A single female cherry fruit fly lays 50 to 80 eggs during the flight season between May and July, so a few specimens are enough to destroy the entire harvest on a cherry tree.

    Control cherry fruit fly - biological control at a glance

    The close correlation between flight time and fruit yellowing makes the cherry fruit fly vulnerable. Because chemical agents are frowned upon in the home garden, the focus is on biological control. The following table provides a compact overview of how you can use natural methods to effectively prevent female fruit flies from laying their fatal eggs:

    mechanical means Natural sprays beneficials
    safety net nematodes parasitic wasps
    yellow boards wormwood tea Chicken
    fleece cover bottom

    In the following video from the Schreiber tree and vine nursery, effective control measures against cherry fruit flies are explained in a practical manner:

    youtube

    Mechanical control - instructions for amateur gardeners

    Informed hobby gardeners know: Prevent cherry fruit flies from laying eggs and your cherries will remain free of maggot infestation. Mechanical control methods are the best option in the home garden. The right time is just as important as correct application. The following instructions explain step by step how to keep the pests away from your valuable cherry tree for juicy fruit enjoyment without nasty worms:

    Fight cherry fruit fly with net

    The mesh size of protective nets against fruit flies should not be more than 1.3 mm

    If a crop protection net envelops the cherry tree, cherry fruit flies have no access. Females are denied the opportunity to lay their eggs on the ripening fruits. Ready-made protective nets from specialist retailers have a zip. This saves you the hassle of climbing up the ladder when you put the net on or take it off.

    Nets with a mesh size of 0.8 to 1.3 mm offer perfect protection. A protective net is used after the flowering period so that bees, bumblebees and butterflies can do their job as pollinators. At the latest before the color of the green fruit changes to yellow, the cherry tree should be equipped with a crop protection net. Leave the hood on the cherry tree until just before the harvest.

    digression

    Eating cherry fruit fly maggots - harmful?

    100% protection against cherry fruit flies has yet to be invented. Every now and then, clever cherry fruit flies sneak their way through and leave behind wormy fruit. Concerned hobby gardeners are right to ask themselves: What to do with infested cherries? Can you eat cherry fruit fly maggots or is it dangerous for your health? Competent nutritionists give the all-clear. Intentional or unintentional consumption of maggots is not harmful to health. In fact, insect larvae are considered by many people around the world to be food and an important source of protein.

    Use yellow boards correctly

    The cherry fruit fly infestation can be significantly reduced with yellow panels

    For female cherry fruit flies, the color change from green to yellow is the signal to lay eggs on sweet and sour cherries. Yellow boards use this phenomenon to capture the fruit fly ladies. These are yellow sticky traps with a special attractant without chemical additives. In commercial fruit growing, yellow panels are primarily used to determine the risk of infestation. On a single cherry tree in your home garden, you can reduce the infestation by up to 50 percent with yellow panels if you proceed as follows:

    • Hang up yellow boards in the cherry tree in early/mid-May
    • Distribute at least 8 to 10 sticky traps evenly in the crown of the tree
    • Important: until the end of the flight period (end of July), replace the yellow panels regularly according to the manufacturer's instructions

    You can increase the attraction of yellow board attractants with a simple trick. To do this, fill a little organic liquid fertilizer in a small PET bottle. Hang the bottle without the cap directly under a yellow sticky trap. The intense smell of the contents significantly optimizes the attraction of the special glue.

    Floor fleece repels cherry fruit flies

    Weed fleece (€21.70) must be laid out over a large area to provide effective protection against cherry fruit flies that wake up

    With a soil fleece on the root disc, you will catch cherry fruit flies when the insects leave their winter quarters below the surface of the earth. A weather-resistant garden fleece that also suppresses annoying weeds is well suited. Alternatively, cover the tree disc with a close-meshed crop protection net or mulch film. Please fix the fleece edges without gaps with earth or gravel against loopholes.

    If there were maggots on cherries last year, please cover all tree discs within a radius of 200 meters with fleece, net or foil. It is to be feared that cunning cherry fruit flies are hiding in the ground up to this distance. The covers are only removed after the harvest.

    Good to know: A ground cover is the best solution if the treetop is too big for a crop protection net. Anyone who does not want to do without the effectiveness of a protective net against cherry fruit flies regularly subjects the cherry tree to professional pruning care.

    Natural sprays against cherry fruit flies

    Two natural pesticides provide effective protection in the biological control of cherry fruit flies. One remedy has beneficial insects in its luggage that destroy fully eaten larvae when they leave the cherry tree. The second remedy is a plant tea that is supposed to prevent female fruit flies from laying eggs. The following instructions explain how to do it right:

    Nematodes versus cherry fruit fly

    Stir nematodes of the Steinernema feltiae species into lukewarm water. Pour the liquid into a watering can with a watering bar. At the beginning of June, water the root disc of the cherry tree on a mild, dry morning. The nematodes parasitize the larvae and prevent you from having to complain about maggot-infested cherries again next year. Nematodes are not sufficient as the sole biological control agent. After all, success rates of up to 50 percent have been recorded.

    tips

    For natural hobby gardeners, using pesticides is not an option to chemically combat the cherry fruit fly. The risk of toxic pesticides being stored in the cherries and ingested when they are eaten is too great. A look at the online database of the BVL (Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety) reveals that no pesticides are currently approved for home gardens anyway.

    Wormwood tea for maggot-free cherries

    Wormwood is a proven natural remedy against cherry fruit flies

    Prepare a tea from 150 grams of wormwood leaves and 5 liters of water. Ideally, let the brew stand for 24 hours and sieve off the overcooked leaves. Then fill the wormwood tea in a pressure sprayer and spray the crown of the cherry tree. When you spray is decisive for the success of the control. In the fourth week after the cherry blossoms, spray the green fruits for the first time. Continue the treatment until the delicate phase of yellow-skinned cherries is over.

    Beneficial insects - organic trump card against cherry fruit flies

    In the near-natural garden, beneficial insects make short work of cherry fruit flies. Where birds, ground beetles, spiders and parasitic wasps feel safe, the pests have little chance of leaving their winter quarters in the ground alive. Mixed hedges with native wild fruit bushes, green dry stone walls, piles of leaves and dead wood invite many beneficial insects to linger. Gardeners hire hard-working chickens and busy runner ducks, who enthusiastically hunt cherry fruit flies and other pests in the garden.

    frequently asked Questions

    What to do if the cherry tree is too big for a crop protection net?

    The crowns of mature cherry trees that are rarely or never pruned are often too large for a crop protection net. In this case, we recommend covering the ground with garden fleece, protective net or foil. The seamless covering of a root disc prevents hibernating cherry fruit flies from flying into the tree crown after hatching in the ground.

    Do biological sprays help against cherry fruit flies during the flowering period?

    No. It is a common misconception among home gardeners that sprays control cherry fruit flies during the flowering period. Recommended pesticides for the cherry tree during flowering combat the cherry blossom moth. However, this pest does not lay eggs on the fruit and is therefore not responsible for maggot-infested cherries.

    What can you do to prevent maggots in sweet and sour cherries?

    In the organic garden you can take various precautions against cherry fruit flies in the cherry tree in advance. Cover the root disk with a fleece. This measure prevents the insects from flying to a cherry tree after hibernating in the ground. An underplanting of lilies of the valley and repeated watering with tansy or wormwood decoction help to protect against the pests. After harvest, remove all fruit mummies from the tree and soil, which you dispose of in organic waste and not on the compost.

    tips

    Early cherry varieties are immune to nasty maggots. When the cherry fruit fly begins to fly, early ripening sweet and sour cherries have long since passed the dangerous yellow stage of ripeness. The cherry varieties 'Red May Cherry', 'Giorgia', 'Burlat' and 'Earlise' promise delicious fruit enjoyment without maggot infestation. 'Kassin's Early Heart Cherry' gives you juicy, sweet, premium-quality cherries without a single unsavory larva.

Category:

Animals in the garden