Fruit Fly Information

Each year when springs rolls in, we dream of the abundance we will have in the garden — beautiful red tomatoes, tasty capsicums and fruit trees laden with produce (including citrus) — and each year the fruit fly returns, causing significant losses — the loss of quality food for the home gardener, and a significant loss of income to local farmers and market gardeners.

Over the last 10 or so years, the fruit pest known as the Queensland Fruit Fly has spread further south in eastern Australia than it was previously thought possible. At the very same time, the number of approved pesticides used to control fruit fly for backyarders and commercial growers has decreased significantly.

SAGE recognises that a coordinated community effort is required, both urban and rural, to control this threat to our food supply. As such, we now hold regular information sessions about how you can do your part to fight the fruit fly menace!

Sign up to our newsletter to keep informed about our next session, or check our events page regularly.

In the meantime, download the SAGE Fruit Fly Information Sheet below and start NOW.

THINK LIKE A FRUIT FLY!

1. QFly spend the majority of time in the host tree in the shade of the canopy.
2. They need a balanced diet of proteins (manures, bacteria on leaf surfaces) and carbohydrates (fruit juices, secretions from aphids and scale etc) for a long life and to reproduce.
3. The urban environment suits the Qfly better than rural as there is more shelter, host fruit trees, humid micro-climates, therefore urban areas are going to require more vigilance.
4. Male QFly usually mate once a night, at dusk during a half hour period and the temperature needs to be at least 15°C. They can survive to -2°C in winter but do not mate in these temperatures. They need a protein source before mating.
5. A female QFLy needs to feed on protein source before laying eggs which she does at dawn and for a few hours after.
6. Adult QFly can live for a number of months and the female can lay between 500 and 800 eggs in suitable conditions.
7. A healthy adult QFly can travel long distances, but up to 1km is more normal.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

There’s a lot we can do to control Fruit Fly, but at the very least, we need to pay attention to HYGIENE.

Pick up all fallen fruit. This breaks the cycle as larvae cannot pupate. Destroy fallen fruit with heat: in a black plastic bag in hot sun, in a fire, or a microwave, then compost them. Without heat treatment do NOT bury, put in your bin or put in your compost pile, as they will continue to pupate to adults.

For lots more information about the Queensland Fruit Fly and what you can do to control it, make sure you download our information sheet.