QFF Information for Residents
Identifying the Queensland fruit fly
Adult QFF are about 7mm long and are reddish-brown with distinct yellow oval markings. Many people confuse vinegar fly with QFF. Vinegar flies are much smaller insects and are the colour of a mosquito, they are not a threat to home-grown produce.
Most people discover fruit fly when they cut open their fruit and find it infested with creamy-white maggots (7-10mm long) burrowing inside.
QFF is most active from November through May.
Why can just one piece of infested fruit devastate an entire production area?
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A number of fruit fly maggots may be found in a single piece of fruit or vegetable. If just one female becomes an adult, she can lay up to 800 eggs in her lifetime. Because of the fly’s rapid breeding cycle, this can result in a population of over 700,000 flies in one season.
If unchecked, these flies can quickly disperse through a fruit or vegetable production area and result in unsaleable crops and loss of markets, as well as requiring expensive measures to bring the pest under control.
What fruits and vegetables are hosts?
Fruit flies lay eggs in many types of maturing and ripe fruit, as well as in some vegetables.
Host fruit and vegetables include:
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Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area (PFA) |
Travellers
- Do not bring host fruit or vegetables into the Pest Free Area unless you have a permit or a plant health certificate.
- Host fruit or vegetables without a certificate or permit must be disposed of in the quarantine bins located on the roadside before entering the PFA.
Residents within the PFA
If the outbreak is in an urban area, trees on private properties may be ‘spot’ sprayed with bait to control the population of adult flies. Residents will receive a notification in their mailbox prior to DPI conducting an eradication operation in their area.
Click here to see an example of a DPI Resident Notification.
- Do not bring host fruit or vegetables into the PFA unless you have a permit or plant health certification.
- Pick host fruit or vegetables as they ripen, manage backyard fruit trees and dispose of any fallen fruit. Place any unwanted fruit or vegetables into a plastic bag and leave in the sun for three days to kill any fruit fly maggots that may be present.
- Advise friends visiting you from outside the PFA not to bring host fruit or vegetables with them.
Industry
- All host fruit or vegetables must be certified to enter the PFA. All receivers of fruit or vegetables must be accredited by DPI Victoria to inspect and verify that the host fruit or vegetables meet requirements. Otherwise consignments must be presented to a DPI inspector as required.
IMPORTANT: lf you find maggots in any fruit or vegetables please contact DPI Victoria as soon as possible on 1300 135 559
What is the Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area?
The Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area is a new zone located within the existing Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone (FFEZ). It is renowned for the production of high value horticultural crops including citrus, table grapes and stone fruit. The Pest Free Area (PFA) is aligned to this production area to provide greater fruit fly control measures.
The Victorian and New South Wales Departments of Primary Industries (DPI) have introduced stringent legislative controls on the movement of host fruit and vegetables into the PFA to keep it free from the devastating pest, Queensland fruit fly.
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PFA for Sunraysia - Click to enlarge |
These strict controls on the movement of host fruit and vegetables have been introduced to maintain highly valuable interstate and overseas markets worth millions of dollars to ensure the area is free from fruit fly.
A detection of fruit fly within the PFA can result in the loss of lucrative export markets and the introduction of expensive control programs which affect the local fruit and vegetable industries and our communities.
What are the control measures to protect the Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area?
Host fruit and vegetables cannot be taken into the PFA unless it is accompanied by a certificate or a permit stating that the produce meets the legislative requirements.
Signage has been placed along the roadside to alert travellers that they will be entering the PFA and to dispose of any host fruit or vegetables into the quarantine bins located on the roadside.
Mobile roadblocks operate within the borders of the PFA to enable DPI inspectors to check that travellers are not bringing host fruit or vegetables into the area.
WARNING: Under Victorian and New South Wales legislation, penalties may apply if host fruit or vegetables are taken into the area without certification.
Within Victoria a penalty of up to $5500 may apply. Similar penalties may apply for New South Wales.
For further information, please call DPI Customer Call Centre on 136 186 or visit the following websites: www.dpi.vic.gov.au or www.pestfreearea.com.au
Regional Victoria (excluding PFA) |
Victoria is currently experiencing one of the worst Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) seasons on record with over 130 outbreaks detected since January 2011, with many of these outbreaks still under area restrictions. In response the Department of Primary Industries has been undertaking eradication and control activities to support the state’s fruit industries.
Due to the immense number of QFF outbreaks this year we are asking residents to help DPI by caring for their own gardens while we concentrate our efforts to assist industry with eradicating QFF in the Greater Sunraysia area.
What is the DPI doing?
Because of the large scale of this outbreak the DPI is working closely with the horticultural industry, transport companies and industry associates to prevent and eradicate QFF in Victoria. DPI is also conducting a community awareness program state-wide advising people how they can prevent the spread of QFF in Victoria.
Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area
The Department of Primary Industries, in partnership with local industry groups, is undertaking a program of eradication in the Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area with the aim of reinstating each of the outbreak areas to area freedom.
Shepparton Irrigation region, North Central, North East, East Gippsland
The Department of Primary Industries is undertaking suppression activities in each of the above areas with an aim to reassess the situation as the season progresses.
Suppression involves using a chemical control program, assisting industry with compliance matters, advising residents of QFF prevention and control measures.
How to prevent the spread of QFF:
If you have fruit trees in your yard you should:
- Prune fruit trees regularly, keeping the tops of the trees at a manageable height.
- Regularly inspect your home-grown fruit for the presence of QFF maggots.
- Remove any ripe fruit from your trees before it falls to the ground.
- Collect and dispose of any fallen fruit on an ongoing basis.
Fruit infested with QFF can be disposed of in a sealed plastic bag, which is either left in the sun for 5-7 days or placed in a freezer for two days. This will destroy the maggots and prevent adult flies from developing. The bagged fruit can then be discarded in your garbage bin. - Compost carefully - do not place unwanted fruit in your compost or worm farm, or put it directly into your garbage.
- Remove any unwanted fruit trees from your property.
DO NOT place potentially infested fruit on compost piles or directly into garbage.
DO NOT remove any home-grown fruit (incl. tomatoes, capsicums and chillies) from your property unless it has been cooked or processed.
DO NOT travel with fruit or vegetables (whether home grown or purchased) unless they have been cooked or processed. Heavy penalties apply if entering the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone or the Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area (PFA).
Controlling Queensland Fruit Fly in your garden
Pruning
Pruning your fruit trees makes it easier to harvest fruit and implement fruit fly control methods.
Excluding
Exclusion is a preventative method that uses physical barriers to stop female adult fruit flies from reaching your fruit and vegetables. Typical barriers that can be used around the home garden are nets, bags and sleeves. These are available from your local chemical or home garden retailer.
Nets: A lot of people construct home mosquito nets over PVC tubes and stakes to protect their fruit trees, some use outdoor gazebos as the zipper allows easy access to regularly inspect trees and harvest fruit as it ripens. Whatever you use all nets must be either secured around the trunk base or to the ground. If you are unsure whether there are fruit fly pupae in the ground under your fruit trees, you should secure the bottom of the net to the trunk base. This will prevent any adult fruit flies emerging from the ground from infesting your new season crop.
Bags and sleeves: Place bags and sleeves over the fruit you want to keep. Thin (remove) any flowers or developing fruit that are not covered by a barrier from the plant, secure bags and sleeves to the plant with tie wire, clothes pegs or string
DO NOT TRAVEL WITH FRUIT/VEGETABLES!The best way to prevent the spread of fruit fly is not to travel with fruit/vegetables at all, whether home-grown or purchased. Heavy fines apply if you are caught travelling with host fruit/vegetables inside a Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone (i.e. Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area). Visit www.dpi.vic.gov.au/qff or more information. |
Spraying
Cover spraying is a method that you can use to directly control adult fruit flies on contact, and destroy eggs and larvae within fruit. Cover sprays contain contact/systemic insecticides, and are sometimes mixed with a lure to help protect produce from initial fruit fly infestations. Cover sprays are generally applied to foliage and developing fruit.
Are QFF insecticides available to use on your fruit/vegetable garden?
All insecticides legally sold in Victoria are registered by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and have passed rigorous testing to ensure they are safe and fit for their intended use.
Which insecticides are used to treat QFF?
Home and community gardeners must only use products that are registered. These products are usually available in small pack sizes or as ready-to-use formulations. Speak to your local chemical or home garden retailer about suitable products for your situation.
How do I apply QFF insecticides to my garden?
Cover sprays can be potentially harmful to human and environmental health. Instructions on how to cover spray your garden plants will vary depending on the spray type and product you choose to use. Make sure that you consult the product label for usage recommendations (always read the product label). It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that registered agricultural chemicals are used in accordance with label (legal) requirements
When to do it: Follow label directions.
Sourcing products: A range of fruit fly cover spray (insecticide) products are available in a variety of trade names. These can be sourced from your local nursery or agricultural chemical supplier.
Can I pick fruit and vegetables I have sprayed?
If you have sprayed your vegetable garden or fruit trees, you need to strictly observe withholding periods or ‘DO NOT’ statements on the product label. This will ensure that chemical residues have broken down to a safe and acceptable level.
Trapping
Traps and attractants can be purchased through various traditional and online suppliers.
You can make your own traps using an empty soft-drink bottle (with lid). Please be aware that these traps may attract all insects - both the pests and the beneficial.
Cut three holes in the bottle about the size of a 10c piece, 10cms from top of bottle. Add the bait mixture: 1 x cup 100% fruit juice (including pulp) and 1 x tablespoon of cloudy ammonia (or wheelie bin cleaner) available from supermarkets and hardware stores. Tie a string around the neck of the bottle and hang from the tree in the shade 1-1.5 metres from ground. The mixture can last up to 3 weeks but we recommend changing it weekly for best effect.
Sanitation
Collect and destroy any rotting or unwanted fruit that you find.
Resources:
For more detailed information and resources:
- Commonwealth Government website: www.preventfruitfly.com.au
- Tri-state Fruit Fly program web site: www.fruitfly.net.au
- Pest Free Area for a Greater Sunraysia web site: www.pestfreearea.com.au
For more information or to report a possible QFF infestation please call the Queensland Fruit Fly Hotline 1300 135 559.
The Department of Primary Industries wishes to credit the Commonwealth Government’s Advice for Home Gardeners in Australia website www.preventfruitfly.com.au for some of the information contained herein.
