Garden pests, Ceratitis capitata

Pests are a problem for the horticulturist, but they are part of nature and we must learn to live with them. It is a mistake to try to eliminate them completely with products that in the long term will be much more harmful to us, causing serious illnesses. In this series of articles I will talk about how to deal with these small, undesirable living beings.

https://pixabay.com/es/vectors/manzana-coraz%C3%B3n-de-manzana-1294762/

Ceratitis capitata, commonly known as the fruit fly, is a beautiful animal that causes incredible damage to fruit growers.
This fly, which is native to Africa and has beautiful colors on its wings, lays eggs in the fruit when it is beginning to ripen. Its larvae hatch from the egg and begin to eat from the perimeter of the fruit towards the center. When they reach the heart of the fruit, it falls from the tree and this allows the worm to bury itself in the ground until the next season.

It is a really difficult pest to combat. The normal thing is to use systemic insecticides that kill the larva at the first bite. But these products are not good for our health.
The most common ecological way is to use pheromone traps that attract and kill the fly.
If you have few trees, the best and most ecological way is to wrap the fruit to mechanically prevent it from laying eggs. In addition, a more homogeneous ripening is achieved.

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