Parsnip juice to control fruit-fly

Tim C

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Parsnips contain myristicin, which is toxic to fruit-flies, house-flies and red-mite. 3 parsnips in a blender, in a litre of water. Researched off Wikipedia list of companion plants. Wonder if it works.? Not much good to us Croweaters, but I was thinkin' of yez up there in Bananabenderland....., with all yer one-headed beasties and everything.
 
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Mark

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How is it used? Like a spray on produce or as an attractant in a container?

I'm willing to give anything organic a try against fruit fly - what an awful pest it is... I noticed this season the fruit fly hanging around the base of our pumpkins looking for a soft spot to sting. If they ruin my big round butternuts I'll be devastated.
 

Tim C

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Spray, from what I can gather, although a few open containers of it strategically placed would also help, I reckon...:). They'd buzz in, take a whiff and go to the neighbors..theoretically. Could be worth a crack. By the way, do they release sterile male fruit-fly up there? I know there's 2 varieties and I'm unsure if they can do that with both????
 

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By the way, do they release sterile male fruit-fly up there? I know there's 2 varieties and I'm unsure if they can do that with both????
They might in some areas but I think most farmers just spray - I don't think there's any major effort here in QLD to rid the State of fruit fly unfortunately. Netting is probably the most effective way to organically stop fruit from being stung.

Spray, from what I can gather, although a few open containers of it strategically placed would also help, I reckon...:).

I'll give it a go - it can't hurt to try it out... I just have to grow some parsnips first and that's a good thing!
 

Tim C

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Maybe it would be worth buying a few, if they're not too expensive up there? I don't have parsnips in, but have Hamburg rooting parsley, which is both used for the herb and the root. Also it might be worth googling myristicin. There's probably other plants that contain it too.
 

Tim C

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Another fruifly control for you poor infested banana-benders- I heard it in the gardening show on the wireless- Spinosad. Yes, it's a nasty insecticide, but you don't put in anywhere near your fruit. Brightly-coloured plastic is impregnated with it and hung in non-fruiting trees close by to attract and kill both sexes of the fly.
Apparently it is a very effective control!
 
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Mark

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Another fruifly control for you poor infested banana-benders- I heard it in the gardening show on the wireless- Spinosad. Yes, it's a nasty insecticide, but you don't put in anywhere near your fruit. Brightly-coloured plastic is impregnated with it and hung in non-fruiting trees close by to attract and kill both sexes of the fly.
Apparently it is a very effective control!
Spinosad is in those common fruit fly applications like Eco Naturalure where you apply it to the tree trunk or a board hung somewhere nearby etc it needs to be redone every 7 days (from memory). I'm not too sure about fruit fly being attracted to colour but they could be I suppose. It's more likely they are attracted to the smell than anything else.
 

Tim C

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I suppose like most bugs it has a keen eye for colour as well as a keen sense of smell. I remember Spinosad we use on crops down here for other pests-not sure but aphids I think.
 
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