Pacific Northwest Garden Forum: fruit worms

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   Hoping to give my composter a bit of a treat, we dumped in a bunch of pears, most showed signs of worm/bug infestation.  The compost reduced the pile by half in short order, but now when I was poking about,  it looks like the worms in the pears have survived and prospered.

1. Am I going to be sorry the worms are growing and continueing their life cycle with fruit trees nearby?

2.  The product called Bug Killer contains endosulfan, which also kills birds or anything that eats treated worms, but  the worms are currently  inside the compost maker but I dont know if they will stay there and I dont know what it will do to my healthy compost, either.

3. I looked up the sight for identifying bugs, but didnt see any worms that looked like these--they are about the size of a fat cooked  white colored macaroni, have a darker edge along each horizontal segment--about 10+segments per worm. When I first cut a pear open and saw these worms they were tiny 1/2 inch long spaghetti sized worms.

What is my best treatment?  Leave them alone,  Cook up a brew of vinegar and salt (or your favorite recipe), or poisen them with chemicals?  

Author	Message
Marge none Joined: Aug-31-2007 Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro Posts: 13	Topic: fruit worms Posted: Sep-03-2007 at 12:47pm
	Hoping to give my composter a bit of a treat, we dumped in a bunch of pears, most showed signs of worm/bug infestation. The compost reduced the pile by half in short order, but now when I was poking about, it looks like the worms in the pears have survived and prospered. 1. Am I going to be sorry the worms are growing and continueing their life cycle with fruit trees nearby? 2. The product called Bug Killer contains endosulfan, which also kills birds or anything that eats treated worms, but the worms are currently inside the compost maker but I dont know if they will stay there and I dont know what it will do to my healthy compost, either. 3. I looked up the sight for identifying bugs, but didnt see any worms that looked like these--they are about the size of a fat cooked white colored macaroni, have a darker edge along each horizontal segment--about 10+segments per worm. When I first cut a pear open and saw these worms they were tiny 1/2 inch long spaghetti sized worms. What is my best treatment? Leave them alone, Cook up a brew of vinegar and salt (or your favorite recipe), or poisen them with chemicals?
	Marge

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DebbieTT Admin Group Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8 Joined: Jan-25-2003 Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula Posts: 4240	Posted: Sep-03-2007 at 2:02pm
	It sounds like you are talking about codling moth. Here's a picture of them. I always use a non chemical approach in dealing with pests. Using chemicals will also kill any beneficial insects in the area. Edited by DebbieTT - Sep-03-2007 at 2:05pm
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DebbieTT Admin Group Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8 Joined: Jan-25-2003 Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula Posts: 4240	Posted: Sep-03-2007 at 2:10pm
	If your compost pile is far enough away from your fruit trees, plus the pears are buried deep inside, I think that would be enough to interrupt their life cycle. I am trying to find information to verify if this will work.
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Marge none Joined: Aug-31-2007 Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro Posts: 13	Posted: Sep-03-2007 at 5:38pm
	Yep, they look like that picture. Now I need to look up what other plants they attack, and work on getting ready for the potential of more of the little darlings. Thanks for your help.
	Marge
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bakingbarb none Joined: Jul-02-2004 Location: Washington, Western Posts: 366	Posted: Sep-04-2007 at 8:33am
	It has to get hot enough to destroy them doesn't it? Or is that not even close to what happens because earth worms live in compost? Shows how little I know compared to what I think I know!
	~BakingBarb
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silver_ creek none Joined: Jan-08-2006 Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills Posts: 653	Posted: Sep-05-2007 at 7:17am
	My own codling moth strategy includes disposing of, not composting (rarely hot enough to destroy the larvae), infected fruit. I also use an organic spray, timed to temperature, to help control. With as large an orchard as we have, covering each fruit with a barrier is impractical. But if were 2 trees, I probably would go that route. Edited by silver_ creek - Sep-05-2007 at 7:17am
	Terry M. Silver Creek Garden Zone 8a, Sunset Zone 4
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Marge none Joined: Aug-31-2007 Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro Posts: 13	Posted: Sep-05-2007 at 9:27am
	Live and learn. I have never had to deal with codling moth, or wasnt smart enough to know I had it, but this was a totally new experiance. The only worms I have had in my compost before that I was aware of was earthworms! I am thinking about recycling the contents of our composter. "Off with their heads"--it only puts me behind a half year, as this was a new pile we started in June when we moved here. What I dont know is how much of the larvae will still be around next spring, since they obviously have been in this yard longer than we have. Thanks for your help.
	Marge
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Topic: fruit worms( Topic Closed)