Hello,
I am a couple weeks into my raspberry harvest and I am having a terrible time with insects. When I move the canes to pick berries dozens of little flies take to the air. In addition, I have an issue with tiny black beetles (the size of sesame seeds) infesting many of he ripe and ripening berries. For every berry I pick I am discarding 4 others. I have tried an insecticidal soap that has helped slightly for the flies, but not for the beetles. My next thought is to spray with a potent insecticide and leave the berries for a week and then begin picking again.
Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.


Mike

Troutgod,

I have to say your username got my attention. So I think your beetles might be Flea beetles. I prefer organic gardening, so for a longer term solution I would suggest beneficial nematodes. but they are not fast acting. Here's a link to check out on 'instant gratification' solutions:

https://www.planetnatural.com/...

The little flies I'm not sure of, so if you can figure out what they are, you may be able to select a single treatment that would 'kill 2 birds with 1 stone'.

Good luck!

Jen

Growing raspberry has dual usage, raspberry to eat and its leaves for tea. Raspberries leaves can be dried and can be used as herbal or medicinal tea's. But you should be careful while planting it is due to the risk of pests attacking them. Sap beetles love to eat ripe raspberries, aphids also attack raspberries, spider mites are also one of the pests that try to harm raspberries by forming its cluster on the undersides of its leaves. You should take some preventive measures before pests destroy your plants completely. You can try taking help from Exterminator Redding CT( www.yalepest.com/redding-pest-exterminators ) or can also try some do it yourself method to keep pests away from the plants.

Does anyone know what those tiny flies on the Raspberry bush were? We have them too and I believe they are hatching tiny- I mean really, really tiny, green worms that are destroying our plant by devouring the leaves. Think tiny and then think tinier than that and you have them, perhaps 1/10 of an inch. They look like they are green with maybe a black spot and the flies seem to jump a bit like fleas. Hard to get a good look at them but if I had to estimate their appearance I would say oblong with yellow and black coloring. I can't find pictures of them anywhere and can't get close enough to catch a shot of them- they jump/ fly away.

Worms sound like a sawfly larvae.
Also apparently there is a new fruit fly pest from Asia, spotted wing drosophila. Does that look like it?
You don't say where you are located.
Here is an article that says the flies larvae are tiny white worms in the fruit.
https://bygl.osu.edu/node/615