Fruit Flies.

[Chris Smith]

For the second year in a row I have lost all my cucumbers and melons to fruit flies "stinging" the fruit and vines. The plants will grow great for a while or even start fruiting and then entire vines or branches start to drop dead. Upon closer inspection I have found worms have eaten out the inside of the stems and fruit. I was told Dipel would work but once the worm is inside stem it is impossible to get the Dipel to them. I get rain on a daily basis this time of year which washes off the Dipel.

Everybody I talk to knows about the fruit flies but nobody can tell me a name or give me any good advice. Does anybody have similar problems or have any ideas about prevention?

[John Allison]

Go to www.greenharvest.com . This is an organic site.

[Raychel A Watkins]

Hi Chris

Sorry I did not see this sooner.  I found that in my cucks that there was a large hole and when I cut it there was a large worm.  This is the pickle worm.  Google it and you will find the genus and species and that it attacks cucumbers.  It has a harder time with japanese cuck but it goes to town on the Burpee.  Dipel won't touch fruit fly or pickel worm.  The fruit fly you should get some Eugenol.  The University can tell you where to get it.  You take some jars with lids.  Make holes with a nail.  Put cotton balls in the jar and a few drops of eugenol.  you can put insectiside in there too but I usually don't.  You will be shocked by the number of flies you catch and thy can't get out.  Put them around your property.  For the pickel worm I put abag made of mosquito netting around the cucumber as soon as it is pollinated and draw the string.  It has worked very well.  The dying vines may be the rain if it rains a lot.  Cucumbers have a blight they gfet easy and they don't like the rain very much.  I can loose mine if I have too much humidity.

Aloha RYchel

[Wayne Tajiri]

Hey Raychel!  I have the same problem, and I live in Hilo, so we get much rain.  These buggers wiped out my cukes badly.  The Eugenol is what I use for the med fruit fly I think?  Same thing?  I tried covering the cukes, but them I got the stings in the stem right above the your cukes, some only an inch long.  They bore through the vine and get into the cuke.  Will try your advice on the mosquito netting setting traps around the veggy garden.  I make my traps with an old drinking water bottle or soda bottle, with a little hole cut around 2 inches below the cap.  I poke a small hole through the cap, run a length of telephone wire through, make a knot in the wire below the cap, pull the knot up under the cap, and wrap a piece facial round on the bottom end of the wire, a couple of inches below the cap.  I use the upper part of the wire to tie the trap under the orange/tangerine trees in the back yard.  I haven't trapped in a while.  I think that may be my problem.   I guess back to trapping.....    Mahalos for the great advice... will let you know what happens.
 
Raychel A Watkins said:

Hi Chris

Sorry I did not see this sooner.  I found that in my cucks that there was a large hole and when I cut it there was a large worm.  This is the pickle worm.  Google it and you will find the genus and species and that it attacks cucumbers.  It has a harder time with japanese cuck but it goes to town on the Burpee.  Dipel won't touch fruit fly or pickel worm.  The fruit fly you should get some Eugenol.  The University can tell you where to get it.  You take some jars with lids.  Make holes with a nail.  Put cotton balls in the jar and a few drops of eugenol.  you can put insectiside in there too but I usually don't.  You will be shocked by the number of flies you catch and thy can't get out.  Put them around your property.  For the pickel worm I put abag made of mosquito netting around the cucumber as soon as it is pollinated and draw the string.  It has worked very well.  The dying vines may be the rain if it rains a lot.  Cucumbers have a blight they gfet easy and they don't like the rain very much.  I can loose mine if I have too much humidity.

Aloha RYchel