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How to stop bugs eating my Guava fruit?

As you can see my white guava fruit are being infested by grubs and bugs. Any suggestions as to how I can stop the critters before they infest the fruit would be greatly appreciated. I had been spraying Yates Nature’s Way FruitFly Control to see if I could mitigate infestation before the fruit started to grow but alas, I failed.

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Comments

KatieC

Hi @AlejoGC,

I am sorry to hear that bugs are getting to eat your guava fruit and not you. Our resident DIY expert @EricL will be back online later this afternoon, but in the meantime let me tag our fantastic garden members @Nham, @Noelle, and @Adam_W to see if they have any suggestions.

I hope we are able to help you get rid of your bugs so you can start enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Katie

EricL

Hello @AlejoGC

Those guava fruits look quite big, it's a shame that insects got to it first. I suggest spraying your guava tree with Eco-Organic Garden 500ml Eco-Oil Concentrate. It is an organic insecticide and kills a host of insects but also attracts beneficial predatory insects (like lady beetles) into your garden.

However, if you wish to avoid using insecticides, I suggest using a small re-sealable plastic sandwich bag. You can seal the young fruit in the bag to protect it from predatory insects. Press the seal of the bag all the way up to the stem and staple the sides near the fruit stem to prevent the bag from opening up. Cut a small piece at the corners of the bag to allow moisture build to drip out. I've placed an image below to give you an idea of how the bag is supposed to be attached.

Let me call on our experienced members @Noelle and @Adam_W for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

AlejoGC

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/25913#Comment_25913

Thank you kindly for sending through this great information.

AlejoGC

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/25907#Comment_25907

Thank you kindly KatieC 🙂

Nham

Hi @AlejoGC

We had the same problem and tried spraying and fruit fly traps, nothing worked. At one stage, we even had a king parrot eating the fruit!. Then a friend just recommended putting a net over the tree. It worked great and for the last 2-3 years all the fruit were all fine to eat. We got the netting from Bunnings as well.

Cover the whole treeGuava fruit ready in a few weeks

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/26398#Comment_26398

Thanks for the tip @Nham! I'm sure @AlejoGC appreciates it.

I'm interested to hear that this gauge netting was effective at stopping fruit fly. It appears you've used something like this Cyclone 4m x 10m x 5mm Backyard Farmer Anti Bird Net with 5mm holes. I would have thought the fruit fly would fly straight through that. Perhaps the hole is small enough to interrupt their flight path significantly? We also have this Cyclone 4m x 4m x 2mm Backyard Farmer Anti Insect Net with a 2mm hole that should also be very effective.

Mitchell

Nham

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/75864#Comment_75864

Hi @MitchellMc,

You are spot on, that is the netting we used. At first I was also sceptical, the 5mm openings are just wide enough for the fruit flies. I think you suggestion that it affects their flight path may be right. I was curious and started watching some of the fruit flies. They fly close to the net, hover, move around and then fly off. Some land on the netting then fly off after a while.

Nham

Walter

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/101766#Comment_101766

Hey @Nham and everyone else,

Yep, that's the netting I use on my Strawberry Guava, and this years bumper crop is astonishing.

When the guava hasn't fruited, I use the netting on other things (tomato, strawberry, boysenberry) because it also keeps the birds down to a minimum and I always have a spare net in the shed.

Mind you, it doesn't stop the lizards that I have to share my strawberries with. I didn't realise lizards have learned to eat strawberries. I can live with that, they don't take many - I just have to be quicker than them

nghiemhung

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/75864#Comment_75864

Can you tell me what to do when my guava tree has a 4 meter net that is not enoug

JacobZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/107600#Comment_107600

Hi @nghiemhung,

Thank you for your question about your guava tree.

Can you upload some photos of the net you've got over your guava tree? If it is sufficiently secured on all sides with no holes or entry points, then the bugs shouldn't be able to get through. Refining your net's anchoring method might be a good place to start.

I'm happy to offer recommendations on this once you've uploaded some images. Let me know if you need a hand with this.

Are you aware of what insects are getting in and eating your guava? If there is a specific insect that is causing trouble, this would help us narrow down our efforts.

You can try an insecticide like Pyrethrum, but if we can narrow down the critters that are eating your fruit, there may be a better product.

Allow me to tag @Noelle and @mich1972 for their thoughts.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

Noelle

Hi @nghiemhung

The internal damage looks very similar to the larvae and eggs of a wasp of some sort, which has penetrated the skin of the guavas and paid her eggs in the flesh.

In addition to the information Jacob has asked for about the netting over the tree, it would be helpful to know your location, so we can get some idea of the pests which may occur in your area.

It may possibly be fruit fly but the eggs were laid and the damage done to the fruits before you became aware of their presence.

Sticky yellow traps or pheromone insect traps hung in the tree from flowering time would assist in controlling whatever the pest is - alas, it's too late this year but keep that in mind for next year.

Nham

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/107600#Comment_107600

Hi @nghiemhung ,

We also have quite a large fruit tree. To cover the entire tree, we have two nets, we overlap the nets and secure using clothes pegs. With the pegs you can just move them around to secure other spots when needed. We take off the net after each season and do some light pruning.

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