Carnarvon residents are invited to register their interest in a free Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) trap to help protect fruit trees in their home garden.
Department of Agriculture and Food community engagement biosecurity officer Sandy Leighton said it was important that home gardeners started Medfly control now as fruit was developing on trees and she was keen to hear from residents interested in receiving a trap.
“The Ceratraps® are available for free and will assist backyard fruit growers with their Medfly control,” Ms Leighton said.
The offer is part of the Carnarvon Medfly Eradication project, which is being led by the department’s Boosting Biosecurity Defences project.
“The traps, when combined with picking up and destroying fallen and unwanted fruit, will assist home gardeners in controlling Medfly numbers,” Ms Leighton said.
The traps are easy to install and contain a unique protein-based liquid that is attractive to both male and female Medfly.
“The smell coming from the liquid lures the fruit flies into the specially designed trap. Unable to escape, they remain in the trap and drown in the liquid.”
The department has installed and regularly monitors 50 traps across plantations and hobby farms and 10 across the Carnarvon town site.
“Results from these traps show that over the past month the Medfly population has started to increase, so now is the time to protect fruit trees from unwanted damage,” Ms Leighton said.
“It is important to control fruit fly numbers before flies started to attack the fruit.
“The traps are most useful if installed when fruit has started to develop on fruit trees and if you hang one trap per fruiting tree.”
Suitable fruit trees include mangoes, citrus (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, kumquat, pummelo), fig, avocado, paw paw, guava, sapote, and stone fruit (nectarine, peach, olive). Traps are also suitable for table grapes, dragon fruit, carambola (star fruit) and strawberries.
There are 250 traps available to home gardeners in the Carnarvon town site.
To order a trap contact Sandy Leighton, DAFWA Biosecurity Officer on 0475 973 451 or sandy.leighton@agric.wa.gov.au
The Boosting Biosecurity Defences project is made possible by Royalties for Regions funding.
Media contact: Jodie Thomson/Dionne Tindale, media liaison +61 (0)8 9368 3937