Fruit Fly - again

On Saturday at the garden club meeting there was a presentation  by an entomologist with expertise on Fruit Fly control. It was a very interesting talk and the important points were:

1. "traps"  -  eg wild may and cera do not successfully prevent your fruit being stung.
2. Cue Fruit fly amulets attract and kill males -  and then any females they mate with.

http://search.cropcare.com.au/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=1&function=GetProduct&ProductID=138825&Details=Y&CompanyID=275295

These need to be hung outside your orchard area at about 15m spacing - in dense foliage about shoulder height.  These amulets are available on packs of 16 and contain a pheromone and fibronil (the poison)
3. They last for about 5 months.
4. Monitoring to see if FF  are around can be done with a trap and one of these amulets inside - hung in the middle of your orchard area.
5. Additionally you need to spray a small amount of protein hydrosylate - available from Bugs for Bugs

 http://www.bugsforbugs.com.au/product/fruit-fly-protein-lure

on each fruit tree (or other trees/shrubs nearby) also with a small dose of poison (spinosad was recommended but maldison was also mentioned) at weekly intervals.

 http://www.yates.com.au/products/pest-control/insects-concentrates/yates-success-naturalyte-insect-control/

This is because the female FF needs a some protein to develop/mature her eggs. The suggested way to do this is with a small spray bottle - apply both sides of the fruit tree under the leaves preferably to protect from rain and uv breakdown. This process is simple and time efficient.

Looks like I wasted money buying the cera traps recently but "oh well"

This system appeals - he had sound scientific studies on the biology and behavior of the FF and results of using this method in commercial orchards. 

Netting does work  - we have "proven" that method and it also helps protect the fruit from possums, rats and flying foxes but there is a bit of a problem netting  larger fruit trees

On balance  I think I'll go for his dual control method  and assess results over the next 12 months