I have an 8 year old thornless blackberry plant that produces large sweet fruit. When we picked a bumper crop last year, we put what we couldn't eat right away in the fridge. Imagine my surprise to find some little while worms on the surface after a few hours of refrigeration! I think they were in the fruit all along. I didn't see them when I rinsed the fruit. Is there a way to prevent them? Are they harmful? (Well, at least I'm still alive.)
Spotted wing Drosophila (via Virginia Tech extension), a newish introduced fruit pest in the region: Some folks advocate the overnight water bath in the fridge method to kill them. In order to prevent them, the chemical controls look more applicable to commercial production than homeowner (from that site, anyway). We've all eaten insects in our food -- I suppose one could be philosophical about the extra protein these provide.
None of the sites I have visited seems willing to say whether it would be harmful to eat them or not. With all the blackberries and other berries consumed I am sure people have been consuming the maggots. I have noticed that the earlier pickings have a lot less maggots. I also prefer the flavor of the fruit before it is overly ripe, so I try to pick early crops for my jelly.
I joined this forum specifically to ask about this tiny worm/maggot on my blackberries and raspberries and see that others have experienced this problem too. does anyone know of an organic remedy or control?
