Fruit flies

Golizgo

Last year our plum tree was laden with fruit like never seen before, we picked as much as we could but a lot of fruit fell to the ground. The weather deteriorated and loads rotted on the ground. Now we are absolutely infested with fruit flies all around and on the plum tree and cabbages that are quite near. 

Any suggestions please how can I get rid of the flies,  spraying hasn’t worked. The garden path is even crawling with them.

Dovefromabove

Rake up the fruit and compost it. 

Golizgo

There is no fruit on the ground it is still on the trees. Rotting fruit was on the ground last year

jenny794

They are a real pest once a breeding population establishes itself in your garden. If the fruit is rotting on the trees you need to pull it off and dispose of it so you don't attract more flies into your garden.  To kill the existing population buy a spray insecticide and treat your tree and possibly other vegetation. You should probably also put a pheromone-based trap or two in your tree. The traps attract and kill the males so breeding stops. It's worth doing this each year. 

Dovefromabove

Alternatively you could attract small birds, especially the tit family, to your tree by hanging bird feeders of suet and sunflower hearts in the tree all year round ... the birds will deal with overwintering insects in the nooks and crannies of your tree. 

I would never spray insecticide over a fruit tree ... it would kill far more beneficial insects than harmful ones 😢 

josusa47

Why are fruit flies an issue?  I didn't know they did any harm.

Dovefromabove

I think they just eat rotting fruit and provide food for birds and bats. 

Dovefromabove

Dovefromabove said:

I think they just eat rotting fruit and provide food for birds and bats. 

Oh ... and provide scientists with lots of generations in a very short time ... they’re fast little breeders 😉