When the cherry tree is full of fruit, the anticipation of delicious, sweet cherries increases. The joy is not always preserved, they are often infested with maggots. You can find out how to deworm them here.
detect worm infestation
Most of the time you will notice a maggot if you cut the cherry in half. If you pit the fruit with a cherry stoner, you often do not notice the pests immediately. This only happens when the sweet cherries are processed further and the larvae then swim in the jam, which is not particularly appetizing. With a little practice, you can see at least part of the infestation before you pit the fruit, without having to laboriously halve them all.
Remove maggot from a cherry
Characteristics of affected fruits:
- they may have holes
- they can feel soft
- or they only have a soft spot
- Juice may escape from the base of the stalk if the stalk is removed and the fruit is squeezed a little
Notice: Cherry fruit flies mainly attack red sweet cherries. Yellow sweet cherries and sour cherries tend to be avoided.
water method
The fresh sweet cherries are placed in a bowl as they are and covered with water. After some time, any worms leave the fruit and swim on the surface of the water. Sometimes they also collect at the bottom of the bowl.
Benefits:
- method is easy to use
- Hardly any effort, few tools
- floating larvae can simply be poured off
Disadvantage:
- Cherries can water down if damaged
- not all pests are removed
- Worms at the bottom of the bowl are harder to separate from the fruit
container method
After picking, place the fruit in a container and seal it airtight. It is best to store the fruit in the refrigerator overnight. The maggots leave the fruit and gather inside the lid.
Benefits:
- easy to use, no hassle with deworming
- only an airtight sealable container is required
- Larvae are simply collected from the lid
Disadvantage:
- not every maggot is removed
- when collecting, the larvae can fall back into the fruit
- If the vessel does not close completely tightly, the maggots can escape
pitting
If the above methods are not feasible or are insufficient for deworming, the cherries can be pitted and examined by hand. Halve the cherries with the knife and then examine them closely. The larvae can usually easily recognize and remove them in the red pulp. If the fruits are very badly infested and become unappetizing as a result, they are thrown away.
Benefits:
- every single cherry is examined and dewormed
- only one knife is needed
Disadvantage:
- direct contact with the pests
- much time necessary with a larger amount of fruit
- exhausting in the long run
- you must then process the fruit immediately
Further measures
If you have already pitted the cherries and want to use them to make jam, for example, the sugar is added and the cherries are left overnight. The fruit will draw juice and the whitish larvae will float to the surface the next day, where you can skim them off.
Cherries that are to be processed with alcohol can be dewormed in the same way. These also remain in the alcohol overnight and the maggots are then removed.
You can also wash halved or pitted sweet cherries thoroughly with water to successfully remove the larvae. However, they lose a lot of juice and aroma in the process.
Notice: In principle it is possible to eat the larvae, they are not poisonous or dangerous.