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strawberry beetle
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Posted by coast_dwellers VIC Aust (My Page) on Mon, Jan 2, 06 at 5:06
| Our prolific strawberry crop is being eaten by small (3mm) beetles that move very quickly. They are very patient and choosy in that they wait for ripening and then gorge themselves and eat big holes in the berries.
Does anyone know what they are and/or have any (organic) ideas on controlling? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: strawberry beetle
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| What you might have is Strawberry Sap beetle. When we had the strawberry farm we had a bad infestation one year and the main problem is rotten fruit lying around so its essential to maintain good housekeeping. A lot of rain tends to bring them in too because the strawbs get a bit soft. They like other soft fruits so if you have peaches or thelike close by you'll find them there too. Baiting is the best trick, I wouldn't think of spraying bcause about the only recommendation I got was malathion. I used bananas as baits in margarine containers or something similar so you can slap the lid on and catch them. They actually preferred bananas to strawberries. There is another beetle called the Strawberry Seed beetle that picks out the seeds, but it sounds like you have the sap beetle. Without more description I can't guess beyond that. They are generally brown - antlike bodies - with knobby antennae. Is this the right beetle? Linda |
RE: strawberry beetle
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| The sap beetle sounds exactly like what we have, thanks Linda. There hasn't been a lot of rotten fruit but we had some soft spots from rain. I'll try the banana traps straight away as we have a couple of overripe ones in the bowl! Best, Bob |
RE: strawberry beetle
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| To think there's a beastie that specializes in eating strawberry seeds ... Nature really is quite remarkable, every niche exploited! |
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