BFF : TO GOOD TO BE TRUE ???

Fig Gazer

Fig Gazer

Well-known member
OF my many exparaments to slow down BFF infestation one thing i have been trying is black bird netting (around 3/4 " squares) the kind they sell at home depot . THE THERY is BFF flys with a rapid zig -zag flight pattern and never shows up caught in spider webs ! So they will not pass thru this very large mesh ,either abdaptation to avoid spiders or because there flight pattern makes it difficult without collision with netting? EITHER WAY IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING !!! I PUT TWO POTTED TREES INSIDE A 6' X 6' X6' PVC PIPE BOX COVERED IN BIRD NETTING AND HAD NO MAGOT INFESTATION ,ALSO WRAPED TWO INGROUND TREES (SMITH & WHITE MARSALIES ) AND HAD NO MAGOT INFESTATION ! THIS NEXT TO TREES DROPING HUNDREDS OF MAGOT INFESTED FIGS! NOT ONLY THAT BUT BIRD NETTING DOES NOT CAUSE HUMIDITY SPOILAGE, SUN BLOCKING ETC. AND FIGS RIPEN NORMALY AND VERY BIRD /CRITTER RESISTANT AS A BONUS . NEED MORE RESULTS FROM MORE TREES AND MORE DIFFERENT ORCHARDS BEFORE I DECLARE VICTORY . MAY JUST BE A FLASH IN THE PAN /FOOLS GOLD ???
 
Fig Gazer said:
OF my many exparaments to slow down BFF infestation one thing i have been trying is black bird netting (around 3/4 " squares) the kind they sell at home depot . THE THERY is BFF flys with a rapid zig -zag flight pattern and never shows up caught in spider webs ! So they will not pass thru this very large mesh ,either abdaptation to avoid spiders or because there flight pattern makes it difficult without collision with netting? EITHER WAY IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING !!! I PUT TWO POTTED TREES INSIDE A 6' X 6' X6' PVC PIPE BOX COVERED IN BIRD NETTING AND HAD NO MAGOT INFESTATION ,ALSO WRAPED TWO INGROUND TREES (SMITH & WHITE MARSALIES ) AND HAD NO MAGOT INFESTATION ! THIS NEXT TO TREES DROPING HUNDREDS OF MAGOT INFESTED FIGS! NOT ONLY THAT BUT BIRD NETTING DOES NOT CAUSE HUMIDITY SPOILAGE, SUN BLOCKING ETC. AND FIGS RIPEN NORMALY AND VERY BIRD /CRITTER RESISTANT AS A BONUS . NEED MORE RESULTS FROM MORE TREES AND MORE DIFFERENT ORCHARDS BEFORE I DECLARE VICTORY . MAY JUST BE A FLASH IN THE PAN /FOOLS GOLD ???
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@Fig Gazer Does mosquito/bug netting the entire tree not work? I think it causes minimal light loss and humidity/heat increase. Plus, the fig won’t grow through it making it very easy to put on and take off. Just a thought. I do this with some of my other trees, but not the figs.
 
Wow, never expected that!! Congratulations! :)

I use bird nettings for the blackberries and sometimes on figs. It is good to deter birds and rats, and sometimes even squirrels and skunks. I never expect that to work on those small flies.

A friend use Tulle fabric to build enclosures, which seem to do a pretty good job in blocking most things. The fabric lasts 2-3 seasons in the north.

I found smarter animals tend to do the path of least resistance thing. I put clamshells on some fruits to deter rats. And they learnt clamshells to be difficult from the traps (I also use half shell to cover the traps to slow them down). As a result, my traps stopped working. I was thinking about why and took the half shell off the traps. Sure enough, the traps were back to work and caught the rats.
 
OTHERS have posted succes with blue painters tape over ostials aplied early and re aplied as needed . CAPTAIN JACKS DEAD BUG aplied to ostial for non organic folks has been seen to work .EARLY USE of fine mesh net in areas of low humidity and lots of air flow will work . natural sents and oils not shure if they work ? Anyway some BFF posts have been made claiming positive results ,now is the time for evaluation realative to edible ripe infeststion free figs !
 
TorontoJoe said:
Does Blastophaga still get in there?

I thought the challenge was a means of allowing Blastophaga in, while keeping BFF out, no?
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NOT REALY ! IF you go with very fine mesh that the wasp can't penitrate you just place a wasp spewing profice (male fig) inside the net and the wasp take care of the caprification . In general wasps are very good at going thru tight spaces and easily enter mesh to small for BFF to physicly enter .
 
I have been using molasses/spinosad mix spray and had pretty good results. I added a Mcphail trap last month. I have also noticed there seems to be a cycle of BFF activity.
 
BFF runs in a cycle ,big hatch on warm days ,first imergence (hatch) hungry and comes to food and traps ,mating feeding ends and egg laying begins ,5 days magots hatch and start eating insides of fig ,couple weeks magots machure and burrow out of fig fall to ground and burrow in soil to pupate ,figs fall with or without magots inside ,a small % pupate in figs that go on to ripen , after a min couple weeks new croupe of BFF emerge from ground to start again ,4-7 hatches per year 25 -30 days apart .
 
NOTE: TODAY we had a big BFF imergence event with warm weather . I broke a couple leafs off and swated 21 BFF in a hour (confirmed kills) sit on bench in arms lenth of sap using leaf stem and clap hand togther fast just above fly as they feed works every time ! YOU also get to see how BFF smells out the sap and flys in with a back and forth 2"- zig /zag pattern .the reason bird netting may work .
 
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