This year first time(6 years at this location) I have most of my gooseberry unripe berries affected by some bug. Green berry gets colored spot, and you can see a small entrance hole in the middle. When you open the berry there is a white maggot inside, looking the same as ones that affected my sour cherry tree last year. I did some reading and I can’t figure out what pest it is. Only fruit eating bugs for goosberry I can see is berry worm, but it is not the case. It is not SWD either, it is too early for it here, if we even have it. Any ideas? Looks like black currant affected too.
I think I found it… Currant fruit fly.
Management-chemical control: HOME USE
No products are registered for this pest in home gardens.
Just what I wanted to hear… 
The worst thing many berries already on the ground and pests from them most likely are in the soil already. I wondering, if covering the soil with landscaping fabric in late winter will prevent the fly from emerging?
Spinosad works well on fruit flies. I think the page you looked at is outdated, spinosad is now available for home growers.
1 Like
It is to late to do it now, right? Could you please point me to the source where I can find spray schedule? I feel almost hopeless. What was not killed by spring frost now dropping due to fly. And it is literally 7 of 10 berries affected. Why did it start so sudden? It was no issues other then saw fly at all previous 6 years… I went out and picked fallen berries. About 150 of them. According to a fact sheet this could be a work of just ONE fly. That really makes my hands to drop.
Yes, this year just pick up the falls to limit the population next year. Also in the winter it helps to rake or otherwise disturb the soil where they may have fallen, it exposes the larvae to cold and misery and hopefully death.
The flies are laying eggs in spring, I’m not sure when exactly in your climate but from petal fall on the gooseberries for another three weeks is the main interval.
Monterey garden insect spray contains spinosad.
2 Likes
Thanks Scott, that was my next question - what product is better, I found few, but some how stopped on Monterey too. I guess warm winter was a boost for them… Do you think raking in winter will not bring issues to the plant itself? They have very shallow root system, though may be it is not all the roots are on top. I at least can take the mulch away I think. Though I have another question… From what I read looks like spinosad has to be consumed by insect to work. Fruit flies feed on flower’s nectar and aphids dew. From other point I found one source that says that spring ground application helps a lot. How it is working? Does it really work on contact? Or may be, if they really need to consume it, it makes sense to create some sweet baits mixed with spinosad?
I found this product: Eco-Naturalure Fruit Fly Bait. What I am not sure about if it is for all the flies, they stated at one point that it controls flies, including Queensland and Mediterranean fruit flies, and at another point “Controls Queensland and Mediterranean fruit flies”. So not sure if those two only attracted. But anyway, they are in Australia… For USA I found references to GF-120 Naturalyte® Fruit Fly Bait, but I only can find one source of it and it is 13 gallon for $200, I guess a bit more then I need for my small orchard.