Last year I was helped here to identify the Asian Fruit Fly (Spotted Winged Drosophila) Spotted Winged Drosophila) as the culprit in my raspberries. As advised, last year I picked every piece of fruit from shrubs and on the ground and buryied it, but I'm sad to report they are back this year. Too bad because I have a very good crop of raspberries this year. Apparently this plague is spreading throughout North America. I read about a product called Entrust, suitable for organic gardeners and I'm wondering if anyone has a source for it on Vancouver Island. Also want to give a heads up to folks who think they can control the flies with apple cider vinegar traps. You need to add a few drops of dish soap to that solution to prevent their escape, otherwise you are just feeding them. Also, my understanding it that it's more of a detection tool than a way to get rid of them. Would love to hear from others who are managing this horrible pest. It feeds and breeds in all soft fruits. Here is a test to see if you have it. Salt water assessments for SWD larvae in fruit
I'm glad to report that the SWD problem doesn't seem to be as bad this year as the previous 3 years, at least here in NW Burnaby. I haven't noticed them in the raspberries, and they are only spotty in the cherries; whereas, before, they infested practically every cherry and most of the raspberries. I'm hoping that this is a permanent reduction in the abundance of SWD, perhaps due to their being discovered by some native predator or affected by a disease. However, it might just be due to a reduction in their local food supply because a nearby neglected (and unpicked) sweet cherry tree is no longer producing abundant quantities of cherries. Time will tell. I'd like to know if anyone else has noticed any improvement in the SWD problem.
I was lucky to enjoy a few weeks of delicious raspberries. It was only about a week ago when the SWDs turned up--or that I noticed them. No doubt ingested a few larva by mistake. :(
I spoke with one of the growers around Spence's Bridge a few weeks ago. She said that a few organic farms are closing because there is no feasible organic method of dealing with the introduced pest yet. Chemical sprays are the only thing that is working on an orchard level if SWD are present.
I've tried getting information from farmers selling raspberries at farmer's markets, but they don't seem to want to talk about it. I think they must be using pesitcides. One farmer mentioned a product called Entrust, which I've heard is suitable for organic farmers.
