- Who is the crimson fly?
- How to understand that a fly hits a bush?
- How to deal with a raspberry fly?
For those owners of their own plots who like to grow various berry crops, one of the most annoying pests is the raspberry fly - fighting with it always requires a certain amount of time. Nevertheless, there are some measures that can be taken to prevent the occurrence of this insect in your territory or immediately to stop all the harmful influence from it. What exactly you need to do and when, you will learn from this article.
to the contents ↑Who is the raspberry fly?
Raspberry fly is one of the species of pests prevalent in the open spaces of the wooded forest and forest-steppe.
Appearance of raspberry fly
External distinctive features, characteristic for this species:
- adult is an insect, the length of which can reach 7 mm. It has a gray hue of the calf, black legs and a specific head shape.
- larvae - pale white worms without legs up to 5 mm long;
- eggs - oval, white hue, with dimensions up to 0.2 mm.
Important! Fecundity of one individual is quite intense - for 1 season the female lays up to 90 eggs.
Features of life
One of the reasons why the struggle with a crimson fly causes difficulties - adult individuals gnaw the shoots from above and down, reach the earth layer and lay eggs in it.
Important! The fly of this species affects not only the raspberry bushes themselves. She also likes similar cultures - blackberry, tagolga, labaznik. That is why, in order to exclude the massive defeat of your landings on the site by this pest, you must choose the right measures to combat the crimson fly and decide how to get rid of it.
From eggs, larvae form in the course of time, which hibernate in so-called false cocoons. Pupation occurs already in May, and the development of a gluttonous adult occurs fairly quickly - in the period up to 1.5 weeks.
This fly feeds not only directly by green stems, but also by nectar from flowers, as well as by dew and sugar juice, which other pests get in the process of vital activity.
Important! As a variant of combating a crimson fly - provoking attacks on her predatory insects or beetles. Their help can be very helpful, as it contributes to a significant reduction in the population.
to the contents ↑How to understand that a fly hits a bush?
Signs of the fact that your raspberry fly was visited by a raspberry fly and it is necessary to fight against it, are obvious enough and visible to the naked eye. If you regularly conduct a preventive inspection of the vegetation, you will notice:
- a change in the shade of the leaves - they become reddish, purple, yellow or bronze;
- shoots have specific grooves along the entire length or at the tip;
- the stems begin to dry, do not give fruit or completely die.
Important! Please note that there are voracious individuals already from mid-May, so during this period, the condition of shrubs should be carefully watched to get a decent harvest.
to the contents ↑How to deal with a raspberry fly?
Until recently, only 1 method of how to get rid of a crimson fly was welcomed - a complete pruning of the shrub under the root. But in this case, the volume of the crop has decreased significantly, and it is possible to expect a repeated growth not 1 year. But even these measures do not always save, because if the raspberry fly has already managed to reach the soil and put its offspring there, the probability of a recurrence of the problem is very high.
All these negative consequences of the struggle have caused a constant search of gardeners for new solutions to how to get rid of a crimson fly. And there is an alternative. There is a very widespread to date complex technology, which includes not only directly measures to combat the raspberry fly, but also additional measures in the process of care for berry landings.
Control measures against an existing pest
To completely not deprive yourself of a berry crop and as quickly as possible to cope with the problem without completely removing the bush, proceed as follows:
- Find all the damaged shoots by characteristic features.
- Cut them to a length of about 50 cm or all of the damaged length, capturing a bit of healthy stem.
- Burn all cut off branches immediately.
Important! Do not tighten with this procedure, so that the pest does not have time to fully gnaw the channel inside the stem and get to the fertile soil for laying eggs.
Preventing the appearance of crimson fly on the site
Preventative measures - this is an extremely important stage in combating the raspberry fly. On how quickly, timely and correctly you will act in different months from spring to late autumn, the volume of harvest and the integrity of your plantations depends.
At the same time, preventive care is not difficult, so do not pre-adjust yourself to painstaking and tedious work. It is enough only to do the following:
- Periodically inspect the bushes and note the condition of the bushes.
- Carry out a prophylactic spray with special insecticides during shoot growth. For this purpose, the following are suitable: an athletic, carbofos, ambush, etaphos.
- In the period of swelling of the kidneys, treat the raspberry with "Iskra".Sufficient solution volume is 2 liters per 10 bushes, and for preparation of 10 liters of solution you will need only 1 tablet. By the way, this tool will effectively dare other pests from your berries.
- In early May, well ground the soil and make 1 tbsp.l.nitroammophoski under each bush.
- In autumn, after harvesting, dig well and loosen the soil, collect all the fallen leaves and process the bushes with the drug "Carbophos".Do hilling bushes and mulch from peat or compost to prepare shrubs for winter colds.
Observe the precautionary measures outlined in this article and you will probably be able to collect a plentiful harvest each year, and maybe you will forget that raspberries and blackberries can be affected by pests. But even if it happened that still the crimson fly attacked your green plantations, do not despair. Now you know the simplest, most effective and safe way to deal with it.
