Last year I discovered worms in my cherries. Can anyone help me and advise what to do in Vancouver, BC, to get rid of cherry fruit flies?
Those are Spotted Wing Drosophila fruit flies, a relatively recent new pest. Check the following Website for more information: Spotted Wing Drosophila (Fruit Fly) Pest Alert - Province of British Columbia.
Thank you for your reply. I think "Entrust" or any other product containing "Spinosad" is what would be necessary to control my problem. However I don't seem to be able to find it for purchase in Canada, at least not available in a quantity needed for my home garden. And it seems as if it does not ship to Canada either. I have been looking for several days.
My impression from Oregon State University Extension is that people are still trying to figure out protocols for dealing with spotted wing drosophila. Start here: Spotted-wing Drosophila: An Emerging Berry and Stone Fruit Pest And see that there are a number of documents updated recently on OSU Extension: Search | OSU Extension Catalog | Oregon State University (including a number of non-crop hosts that might be exarcebating the problem: Noncrop Host Plants of Spotted Wing Drosophila in North America ) Note that Michigan State University Extension considers the problem so bad for home gardeners that: "SWD may become the deciding factor for whether or not you continue to grow fruiting trees and shrubs in the home garden." ( Spotted wing Drosophila: A serious pest for the home gardener ) UC IPM article: Spotted Wing Drosophila Management Guidelines--UC IPM : Any chemical control has to be precise, which is why there probably isn't much for the home gardener, as "Sprays must be timed to kill adults before they lay eggs, as sprays will not control larvae already in the fruit."
Local garden authority, Dr. Linda Gilkeson, who lives on Saltspring Island has been writing about Spotted Wing Drysophila for years and often gives tips on how to deal with them in her monthly gardening newsletter. You can subscribe for free by contacting: Linda Gilkeson || West Coast Gardening || Organic Year Round Gardening See truly awful photos of SWD here: Linda Gilkeson | West Coast Gardening | West Coast Gardening: Natural Insect, Weed and Disease Control
