Re: [CH] fruit fly ?
James Robertson (jrr@optushome.com.au)
Mon, 15 Jan 2001 11:48:41 +1100
Thanks for that. Killing the larvae like that makes sense. I did pull all
the infected ones off - but I just put them in the garbage which went last
night. Blast - I've probably caused a fruit fly outbreak at the dump !
Next time I'll know better.
I don't know about 60 tiny paper bags though. Wife might look even more
strangely at me when I go into the garden and start doing that ;-)
Cheers and have a good one,
jr
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tara Deen" <tara@es.usyd.edu.au>
To: "James Robertson" <jrr@optushome.com.au>
Cc: <chile-heads@globalgarden.com>
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2001 11:36 AM
Subject: Re: [CH] fruit fly ?
> James,
>
> If you're in Sydney, then it's sure to be fruit fly. There are a lot
> around at the moment. I am also in Sydney and while I can't say I've had
> any trouble with my chillies as yet, but I've been fighting them off my
> tomatoes.
>
> Fruit fly are a serious commercial pest. You must place all infected
> pods in a sealed plastic bag, put it in the full sun for a couple of
> hours, then dispose of it in the rubbish bin. It is important to break
> their breeding cycle.
>
> A tip you could try is to cover the chillies from above using a bit of
> cloth rag or paper bag. If it's a Don Burke Thai chilli, it holds it's
> pods upright so a bag would be easy to apply. The reason behind this
> madness is that apparently fruit fly identify and attack the fruit by
> sight from above. If it's covered, they don't see it. Of course, it also
> means you can't admire the pods, but that's better than not having
> any...
>
> As for the aphids, try washing them off the serrano a firm jet of water
> from the hose. You could also try a jet of soapy water from a spray
> bottle, both methods assisted by back-up squashing of those reluctant to
> leave. Once aphids have been forcibly removed using this method, their
> mouth parts are damaged to the point where they cannot feed again. This
> method requires close scrutiny in the follow-up, as any aphids left will
> rapidly breed up in numbers again.
> You could also try encouraging aphid's predators such as lacewings into
> the garden to feed from the aphids. Lacewing larvae are the ones who do
> the good work here, but you must attract the adults. They like flowering
> alyssium, dill, carrot, parsnip etc.
>
> Good luck,
> Tara
>
> --
> _____________________________________________________
> Tara Deen Phone: 61-2-9351 4271
> School of Geosciences Fax: 61-2-9351 0184
> Building FO5 Mobile: 061 410 538 655
> University of Sydney NSW 2006 email: tara@es.usyd.edu.au
> AUSTRALIA
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