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WORMS IN MY CHERRIES
- DESCRIPTION: In the early summer many people enjoy
eating home grown cherries. Often times little white worms are
found inside their cherries and, after being grossed out; they
may wonder where those worms came from. Those worms are the
larvae of the western cherry fruit fly. In the spring, adult
flies lay eggs under the skin of the cherries, and in a larval
form, the maggots (or worms) feed on the inner meat of the cherry.
As the cherries ripen, the larvae drop to the soil and remain
in a dormant state until the next spring where they emerge as
mature flies, to lay eggs in both sweet and tart cherries.
- SYMPTOMS: It is very difficult to tell if there are
fruit fly maggots in maturing cherries. The fly's eggs and the
puncture wound left from where the female fruit fly inserted
them are very small and not readily detectable, but a puncture
wound may show up as a divot on the surface of the cherries
when ripened. When untreated cherries are ripe, the cherries
that have a small hole in them may be safer to eat than the
ones with out, as that is the exit hole of the maturing larvae.
- CONTROL: The best way to control western cherry fruit
flies is by not allowing them to get into the fruit, making
it necessary to treat the cherries periodically with a pesticide.
Malathion® is the best insecticide for homeowners to use
for this purpose. Because only a three-day waiting period is
required before eating the cherries, you can keep spraying the
fruit until it is almost ripe
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