Apple maggots are a perennial problem to home apple growers. The surface of the fruit is ravaged by the maggots and makes the apples very unappetizing. In June, the apple maggot adults (the flies) start laying eggs in the fruit. Once they’re in the apples, there’s really no way to get to them. So, prevention is the key.
Starting around the first of July (as the flies get busy), there are sprays to protect the fruit.
Kaolin clay (Surround at Home®) is applied as a spray to the leaves, stems, and fruit, every 7 to 10 days through August. Check at local nurseries or online. One source is Gardens Alive!
Then there are sprays to kill the flies before they can lay the eggs.
Malathion, pyrethrin alone, or and rotenone as a mix with pyrethrin. Ask at your nursery or garden center for the products they carry that contain these ingredients and can be used on fruit trees.
The apple maggot trap is also a way to get rid of the flies before they lay eggs.
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
2 banana peels
1 tbsp. molasses (optional)
Fill a gallon plastic milk jug half full of water, add the other ingredients, and shake well. Hang jug from fruit tree with lid off. If tree is larger, you may need more than one.
Leave in trees bloom to harvest, change periodically – when it gets too crusty with dead flies
Another traditional way to protect the fruit is to put a paper bag around each fruit when it is small and allow it to grow larger inside the bag – safe from insect attack. This was a painstaking process, but quite effective.
Recently someone came up with a new twist. Instead of stapling on paper bags, they’re using “footies” – the nylon mesh things you get in the shoe store to try on shoes. They go on faster and expand easily as the fruit grows.
You can get them from the Home Orchard Society or Raintree Nursery. Here’s one from my tree.
Starting around the first of July (as the flies get busy), there are sprays to protect the fruit.
Kaolin clay (Surround at Home®) is applied as a spray to the leaves, stems, and fruit, every 7 to 10 days through August. Check at local nurseries or online. One source is Gardens Alive!
Then there are sprays to kill the flies before they can lay the eggs.
Malathion, pyrethrin alone, or and rotenone as a mix with pyrethrin. Ask at your nursery or garden center for the products they carry that contain these ingredients and can be used on fruit trees.
The apple maggot trap is also a way to get rid of the flies before they lay eggs.
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
2 banana peels
1 tbsp. molasses (optional)
Fill a gallon plastic milk jug half full of water, add the other ingredients, and shake well. Hang jug from fruit tree with lid off. If tree is larger, you may need more than one.
Leave in trees bloom to harvest, change periodically – when it gets too crusty with dead flies
Another traditional way to protect the fruit is to put a paper bag around each fruit when it is small and allow it to grow larger inside the bag – safe from insect attack. This was a painstaking process, but quite effective.
Recently someone came up with a new twist. Instead of stapling on paper bags, they’re using “footies” – the nylon mesh things you get in the shoe store to try on shoes. They go on faster and expand easily as the fruit grows.You can get them from the Home Orchard Society or Raintree Nursery. Here’s one from my tree.
Protect our neighborhoods and our environment. Apply all insect controls with care. Read the label and follow it.
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