Step 5 – Start locally, then expand

Qfly simply seek areas where they like to live. They need fruit to sting, places to shelter, moisture and humidity. A typical backyard provides all these things, and Qfly happily live and breed in them.

Fruit flies do not lay the same number of eggs in every piece of fruit they come across. One tree, with only a few fruit, can still produce a lot of flies. So while it’s best to have your neighbours involved, starting with your own backyard is important and will still make a difference.

Then, talk to your immediate neighbours and get them involved. After that, ask them to talk to their neighbours and to engage with any existing Area Wide Management initiatives. Most flies do not move far, and even the cooperation of a small group of you will lead to much cleaner fruit and vegetables in your own gardens.

Working with your neighbours, sharing stories of Qfly activity, will help coordinate efforts and make better action plans with better results – for example, if you can identify when Qfly starts to emerge after winter, this will help you time your efforts more effectively.