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I am in Sydney, NSW, Australia. This coming (arrived?) summer I have several fruit trees which will be bearing fruit for the first time. This includes a peach tree and nectarine (both of which already have masses of fruit about half the size of a golfball) and 5 different guava varieties, some of which are starting to flower at present.

In my particular area I don't know the extent of the fruit fly population, but it's a safe bet that they will be present to some extent. I have been keeping an eye on the peach and nectarine trees with no signs of infestation yet (as far as my untrained eye can tell).

Should I be taking a preventative measure right now, such as setting some baited traps? If an infestation takes hold, I'd like to use the most organicy remedy possible but I'm prepared to use pesticides to save the crop if there are no other options left. I'd much rather make a pre-emptive strike though, but I have no experience with growing fruit fly susceptible fruit trees. Any tips?

Danger14
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Bogdanovist
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  • The fruit flies in the Northern Hemisphere do not present a danger to fruit crops. Can you give us more information about what kind of fruit fly you expect? – kevinskio Oct 05 '12 at 12:09
  • In Australia fruit fly is an absolute menace. There is very strict quarantine protecting some commercial fruit growing areas that remain free of fruit fly. Usually pests in Australia are introduced, maybe this one is actually native! Unfortunately that is about as much as a know about it though. I know it's a big issue, but I know little about the specifics, hence the question. By the sounds of it, this question probably needs a local expert. – Bogdanovist Oct 06 '12 at 10:36

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I'm now in a position where I can answer my somewhat old question. As anticipated, the Queensland Fruit Fly (Bactrocera tryoni) completely destroyed my fruit crops for two years in a row. I attempted to control this by using baited traps as well as foliage lure/poison sprays and while this probably controlled the population somewhat, in an urban setting you can't do anything about the fruit flies breeding in your neighbours trees then coming and destroying your own. It is clear to me that the only tenable control method in Sydney is to exclude the flies from the fruit with netting. This accords with the view of other more experienced backyard gardeners I've discussed this with in the area.

Bogdanovist
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