Every year I get little worms in my peaches, pears, guavas, and papayas. What are they and can anything be done?
These are probably the larvae of the Caribbean fruit fly. This pest is a problem on all fruits are fleshy and which stay on the tree a long time before opening. The fly deposits an egg just below the surface of the skin and the larvae feeds throughout the fruit as it matures. Upon maturity, a fly emerges from the fruit. The larvae are usually so numerous the fruit is inedible. Frequent and persistent appropriate sprays throughout the fruit period will give only poor results in controlling this pest.
