spotted wing drosophila is a small fly who's larva eats soft skinned fruit

Drosophila suzukii if I spelled that right. A major menace to many soft fruits. Basically an Asian fruit fly that not only attacks over ripe fruit but also good fruit. It is an issue on blueberry, cherry, peach, plum, strawberry ect but really likes raspberries the best.

The population expands exponentially so later in the season is worse than earlier. Some people have now given up on fall bearing raspberries and grow July bearing only in the hope that at least the SWD population will be lower in July than September and thus easier to manage.

You will know when you have it as the raspberries will be full of very tiny larvae. The only solution is preventative spraying with a short residual insecticide. Vinegar Traps can be put out to monitor the population. Many blueberry growers in MI now have to spray every 4 days as crop ripens with a short residual in order to get a harvest that is free of this pest.

I did not spray my raspberries last year and we found a few larvae in the fruits. After that my children would not eat any of my raspberries. This year I will resort to spraying as a preventative measure (Malathion) but I am not thrilled about it. Basically from what I understand, the solution is to pick all ripe fruit, spray a short residual insecticide, then pick again 4 days later. Repeat the sequence until harvest is done.

Thanks for the information. I'll keep an eye out for them. I'm planning on adding another 60 or 70 plants to my field.

In Ohio, they tend to hit around July 20 for me. Berries that ripen after that are very susceptible. In a good year, half of my Darrow blackberries will ripen before SWD hits. If I pick my raspberries slightly before they are completely ripe, I don't notice them but they probably are there. If I let them ripen, they are noticeable. The real problem is they feed off of the berries and make them taste extra sour. I haven't noticed them yet in peaches, cherries, gooseberries, grapes, currants or June bearing strawberries.