Community Champions
Knowledge is power
Here we have compiled some case studies of commercial growers and home gardeners to share in their successes and to offer hope to those that feel like controlling Queensland Fruit Fly on their property is a hopeless case.
Making a tree change
Michelle and her partner Tony Allen moved to the region with a dream to create a better lifestyle.
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Their home in Merbein came with a big yard and lots of fruit trees that the couple pictured enjoying all year round. But they soon learned about an unmanaged Queensland fruit fly problem that at first seemed like it would ruin their plans.
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Finding success in fruit fly fight
Gillian and Michael Hogan are proof that you can manage even large gardens to keep out Queensland fruit fly. The couple has more than 30 fruit trees and lots of herbs and vegetables at their property in Red Cliffs.
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It has taken time and effort to find the best way to protect their wide variety of produce, but they are now so confident that they are sharing their successful methods with others who are having problems with Qfly.​
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Controlling fruit fly with confidence
It is still possible to harvest beautiful fruit from your garden, even now that Queensland fruit fly is established in the region, Irymple's Deb Bogenhuber said.
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On her acre of land, Deb has a mixture of natives and fruit trees, including some unusual fruits that can't be sourced easily in the region. She also grows some vegetables in raised garden beds.
"I'm a keen cook, so I love being able to process food when there's an abundance, and experiment with combining different fruits," she said.
Read Deb's story here.
Fighting fruit fly together
Trish Kelly and her neighbours in Merbein have banded together to fight Queensland fruit fly in their area.
Their joined efforts to learn more about fruit fly and how to control it in their gardens are making a big difference.
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"As we are seeing less fruit fly in our traps, we are gaining more confidence in ourselves and our practices," Trish said.
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Getting creative to control fruit fly
Monnapa Gervasi is one of many community members finding creative ways to control Queensland fruit fly in their gardens.​ The Mildura resident has had great success using different types of nets to protect her fruit – from small bags, to curtains, to shade cloths.
Monnapa’s large garden is filled with many types of fruit trees and fruiting vegetables. Some trees are completely covered with insect exclusion netting, while only select bunches of fruit have been covered on other trees, and netting draped over hoops protect her taller vegetables.
From zero to hero
Mildura home gardener Rob Wood went from losing much of his fruit and vegetables to Queensland fruit fly to having no infested produce this year by taking part in the local Fruit Fly Fighter Program.
“We are never going to get rid of fruit fly, so we need to learn to live with it," he said.
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Read Rob's story here
Stay vigilant for fruit fly
For Swan Hill's Danielle Pretty and her kids, summer means eating fresh fruit straight off their trees.
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Queensland fruit fly infestations in their backyard threatened to put an end to that, so Danielle decided to do something about it. She learned all about fruit fly and how to control it, and set about protecting her various trees and plants using insect exclusion netting and traps.
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Working together to protect our crops
Working together is the key to reducing QFF populations across the region, according to Sunraysia growers.
Stone fruit growers Michael Tripodi and Paul Mobilio said fruit fly could be managed using the right control strategies, but it was important that all growers were doing something. “We need to work as a community, and as a collective of growers, to make sure we’re doing the best job we can to control fruit fly on our properties, and to let each other know if there’s something new to be aware of,” Michael said.
Read the case study for more about how Michael and Paul control fruit fly on their properties.
Beating fruit fly with exclusion netting
Kathryn Stevens was over the moon this summer when she picked peaches for the first time in years. Queensland fruit fly had destroyed all her family’s stone fruit over the past few years, so they had all but given up.
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"We had stopped watering the fruit trees as much because we thought we didn't have a chance," Kathryn said. But with the help of Fruit Fly Murray Valley's field officer, Kathryn was able to trial an exclusion net to keep fruit fly out and protect her fruit. To read the full story click here
Fighting fruit fly in the community
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When Allan Bryce moved into his new home in Swan Hill, he discovered that it also came with a lot of Queensland fruit fly.
Find out how Allan managed to eat beautiful fruit this year after taking advice on Qfly management from Tricia Witney, who is a former field officer with Fruit Fly Murray Valley in the Swan Hill region. To read the full story click here
Free tree removal helping after years of disappointment
Fruit Fly Murray Valley’s free tree removal program has been successful in helping residents who have struggled to manage their trees for Queensland fruit fly.
Kathy O’Donnell planted a Nectarine tree five years ago with the vision of one day walking out her backdoor, picking and enjoying her own beautiful Nectarines. However, after years of not one piece of edible fruit, Kathy’s disappointment had turned into incredibly frustrated, and the free tree removal program was just what she needed.
Read Kathy's story here
Community banding together to control Queensland fruit fly
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Sam Oresti is winning the battle with QFF by reducing the number of host trees he has and using insect nets to keep QFF away from the remaining trees. “We just had too many trees to look after each year - it was becoming a losing battle against Queensland Fruit" said Sam. Story here
Kerang community garden beating fruit fly ​
"God that's good!" Dave Randell, caretaker of the Kerang Community Garden, is ‘over the moon’ about his stone fruit this year. These trees were destined to be bull-dozed, when Fruit Fly Murray Valley's former field officer Tricia Witney paid a visit to the garden in June 2018. “I couldn’t have done it without Tricia.” Story here
