FOR the second year in a row, Swan Hill couple Tony and Jenny Waldron will not be able to sample any of the plump apricots growing on the tree in their backyard.
At the weekend the Waldrons woke to find their backyard apricot tree infested with fruit fly, a tree that was completely stripped of all its fruit last year.
This year’s harvest is riddled with white, wriggling maggots, despite Mr Waldron’s best efforts.
Even before Swan Hill’s groundbreaking residential trapping program roll out, which began in June and delivered thousands of fruit fly traps to homes across the region, Mr Waldron had constructed his own home-made trap from an old drink bottle, fruit juice and cloudy ammonia.
“We were hoping to be safe this year. It is a fairly young tree and loaded with fruit,” said Mr Waldron.
“We’re sort of frustrated and sort of sad,” said Mrs Waldron.
Over on the other side of town Meg Irvin spent Monday evening picking and bagging the contents of her apricot tree after noticing that the fruit bore tell tale signs of fruit fly.
Ms Irvin, who had been plagued by a severe infestation of the pest last year, said she wasn’t wholly surprised to discover the unwanted insects.
“I knew I might have trouble because they pupate in the ground,” she said.
“The fruit looks terrific on the tree but when you open it up you can see where they’ve punctured a hole.”
For more on this story, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (December 9).
