What's eating my blueberry 'bluecrop'?

Bluecrop blueberry's main threats are birds stealing ripe berries, spotted wing drosophila (SWD) laying eggs in maturing fruit, and blueberry maggot in the US. Aphids and spider mites cause foliage damage. Birds are the most immediate and visible problem in home gardens, capable of stripping the entire crop in days.

Ripe and ripening berries eaten or knocked off; entire crop on small bushes can vanish within days of colouring up Drape fine netting (less than 20 mm mesh) over bushes before berries begin to colour; a permanent fruit cage is the most practical long-term solution

Female uses serrated ovipositor to lay eggs inside firm, ripening berries; larvae cause internal collapse; berries become mushy and leak before they appear fully ripe Apply fine exclusion netting before fruit turns pink; monitor with adult traps; spinosad or pyrethrin sprays applied at colour break and repeated before harvest can reduce infestation

Larvae tunnel through fruit, making it soft and watery; damaged berries drop early or harbour small white maggots at harvest Hang yellow sticky traps baited with ammonium acetate to monitor adult flies; apply spinosad border sprays; pick berries promptly to reduce fruit fly population build-up

Clusters on new growth cause leaf curl and distortion; more importantly, aphids vector blueberry shoestring virus, causing long-term decline Spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil on new shoot tips; encourage ladybirds and lacewings; control ants that farm aphids for honeydew