Blueberry Maggots - Ask Extension
We discovered blueberry maggots in our blueberry crop this year. Is there a way to get rid of these or will we have to take out the bushes?
Knowledgebase
Blueberry Maggots #850692
Asked September 20, 2023, 6:32 PM EDT
We discovered blueberry maggots in our blueberry crop this year. Is there a way to get rid of these or will we have to take out the bushes?
Multnomah County Oregon
Expert Response
Hello,
Blueberry maggots are found in the eastern US. Do you think it could be spotted wing drosophila instead? Can you tell me what the insects look like? Also, are you a commercial blueberry farmer or home gardener?
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Blueberry maggots are found in the eastern US. Do you think it could be spotted wing drosophila instead? Can you tell me what the insects look like? Also, are you a commercial blueberry farmer or home gardener?
Thank you for using Ask Extension!
I am a home gardener. The blueberries had brown spots on the outside and inside were tiny worms i.e. maggots. I looked up information online and the only information I found that matched what we saw was blueberry maggots. We live in Portland.
Hello,
Thank you for the extra information about your blueberries, that is helpful. The maggots you are seeing are from an invasive insect that has established in our area called the spotted wing drosophila (SWD). This fruit fly will lay eggs in ripening fruit, versus over-ripe fruit like other fruit flies, which means larvae are found in ripe fruit that people are picking. The larvae are harmless to eat, so you don't necessarily have to do anything. But if the larvae bother you there are some monitoring tools and pesticide sprays you can use. One called Spinosad is effective and organic. It is however recommended to rotate insecticides. Picking up and disposing of old fruit from the ground can also be helpful as well as using blueberry varieties that produce fruit early in the season.
Below is more information:
https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/emerging-insect-pests/ongoing-eradication-programs/spotted-wing-drosophila-emerging-berry
https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/small-fruit/blueberry/blueberry-spotted-wing-drosophila
Thank you for using Ask Extension!
Thank you for the extra information about your blueberries, that is helpful. The maggots you are seeing are from an invasive insect that has established in our area called the spotted wing drosophila (SWD). This fruit fly will lay eggs in ripening fruit, versus over-ripe fruit like other fruit flies, which means larvae are found in ripe fruit that people are picking. The larvae are harmless to eat, so you don't necessarily have to do anything. But if the larvae bother you there are some monitoring tools and pesticide sprays you can use. One called Spinosad is effective and organic. It is however recommended to rotate insecticides. Picking up and disposing of old fruit from the ground can also be helpful as well as using blueberry varieties that produce fruit early in the season.
Below is more information:
https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/emerging-insect-pests/ongoing-eradication-programs/spotted-wing-drosophila-emerging-berry
https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/small-fruit/blueberry/blueberry-spotted-wing-drosophila
Thank you for using Ask Extension!
