What has made holes in my blueberries?
Question:
What has made holes in my blueberries?
Answer:
I believe you are dealing with blueberry maggots, the larval form of the blueberry fruit fly. The female adults lay their eggs just under the skin of the fruit and the emerging maggots tunnel through the blueberry, giving you the tiny holes you’re seeing–if you cut some open, you may find live larvae inside. The link I provided to the Univ of Wisconsin Extension just above gives good advice for cultural practices to combat the pest (conscientious weeding, pruning to allow sunlight to penetrate to the ground, removal of any nearby wild blueberry or huckleberry, disposing of infected plant material in the trash rather than compost, scouting your soil for pupae waiting to develop into adults), as well as chemical interventions if you choose to pursue that route. There isn’t much you can do for the already affected fruit, but you can take action to protect next year’s crop.