Safety for home growers – bag, bake and bin

Simply by laying eggs on home-grown produce, fruit fly can prevent home fruit and vegetable growers from enjoying the fruits of their labour. There are measures home growers in and near the Zone can take to ensure their produce remains fruit fly free:

• Don’t leave fruit or fruiting vegetables to rot on the ground. Instead, put it in an intact plastic bag, tie the top and then leave it in the sun for at least three days and then bin it through your usual rubbish collection service.  This is sufficient to kill off a possible infestation.
• Be vigilant  – keep an eye out for fruit flies and if you spot them in your garden or find maggots in your produce, call the fruit fly hotline on 1800 084 881 or your local authorities immediately. You can also make a simple fly trap to hang in your fruit tree or near your veggie patch to help you keep watch for fruit fly and other flying pests.
• Advise any expected visitors to the region to leave their fruit home and buy locally on arrival.  Let them know about the fines that apply if they’re found bringing in prohibited foods.

Your home-grown fruit and vegetables may look perfectly healthy on the outside, but that is no guarantee they’re not infested.  It is not possible to detect infestation until the fruit is opened.  Infested fruit usually looks brown and mushy and maggots will often be visible.

Click here for more technical information about the fruit fly.