Question
Hi Jack, I am in Florida, and have a beautiful 3 year old Peach tree, which gave me a moderate crop last year (about 30 peaches..) and I know from my local Extension Agent, that the Medfly is a persistent pest with Peach growers in Southern Florida; well this year, true to his word, I had a huge crop but I found numerous Medfly larvae inside tested fruit, even though I saw no entry point. The bottom line here is I can't eat or give to friends any of these Peaches, because of the inability to see which are infested and which are not. My question to you is, How or what type of measures can I take next year to keep this pest at bay, is there a spray to prevent the adult from laying? Thanks in advance, ..Nick McCann

Answer
Nick,

Med fly was declared eradicated from Florida in 1998. I can't find any information about maggot pests in peaches in Florida. You might want to take a look at this page http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/document_ig075 from the entomologist at the University of Florida about peach pests. This publication is for commercial growers but may be of some use. You could also contact him (Russ Mizell) and see if they have a diagnostic service.

Jack DeAngelis, PhD
Extension Entomologist (ret.)
author Living with Bugs: http://www.livingwithbugs.com/bug_book.html