Cherry maggots - Ask Extension
I have Montmorency, Surefire, and Balaton cherry trees. I got a fair amount of cherries this year but I was a bit late in picking them. They were al...
Knowledgebase
Cherry maggots #936395
Asked June 22, 2026, 3:17 PM EDT
I have Montmorency, Surefire, and Balaton cherry trees. I got a fair amount of cherries this year but I was a bit late in picking them. They were all filled with maggots.
Is there anything I can do now or next winter or spring to minimize a recurrence?
Clackamas County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi and thanks for your question about the fly larvae in your cherries. My mom once threw out a whole batch of cherries she had just canned because the maggots floated to the surface!
The cultural control for this ubiquitous pest is:
Remove overwintering environments for larvae, such as weeds, prunings, and trash around the plants.
If you want a chemical control you must be very careful to avoid times when bees are pollinating the fruit. According to the Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbook:
"Becauseegg laying and hatch occur at bloom and petal fall,
great care must be taken if applying pesticides to avoid bee injury with any of the following products. Apply after petal fall, or at night.
The cultural control for this ubiquitous pest is:
Remove overwintering environments for larvae, such as weeds, prunings, and trash around the plants.
If you want a chemical control you must be very careful to avoid times when bees are pollinating the fruit. According to the Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbook:
"Becauseegg laying and hatch occur at bloom and petal fall,
great care must be taken if applying pesticides to avoid bee injury with any of the following products. Apply after petal fall, or at night.
- carbaryl
- esfenvalerate
